Chapter 24

                When Lock arrived back aboard the Probe at the Nexus point, he was still smiling.  Seeing himself as a boy all those years ago was an experience he would treasure forever.  He silently wondered if his comic collection stored at home would now contain the only comic he ever regretted leaving behind.  Feeling ravenously hungry, he made his way through the probes interior barrier system to the kitchen and noted to himself that he would be sure to look for the comic the next time he visited his home.  As Lock assembled the makings of an awesome sandwich his thoughts were intruded upon.

I trust that your personal experience in the past has galvanized your faith in the power of our partnership and the reliability of this proven time technology.  Unfortunately we cannot afford to dally here for long.  My systems have been out of direct communication with our base of operations and now our renewed stability has been established.   As a direct result I have been constantly monitoring information originating from the Center and only hours ago it was attacked by unknown enemies.  Gleaned from continuing emergency communications it appears that no key personnel have been injured or killed and although damage has been done to the complex of buildings, no permanent harm occurred.  Operations control will be shunted around the physical destruction until repairs have been made and we have a sympathetic spokes person in the form of the personal assistant to the Director of Operations.  I have sent the first message since my program mandated isolation, to this spokesman.  While we wait for an answer to my query it is time you are informed of the last bit of information I posses regarding what has led us to this point. 

I have always been vague when referring to your predecessor and my previous Director.  I have never allowed you to know what transpired, leading to his demise.  It was not necessary while first deciding if you would be compatible as my new Director, nor again later during your training regime.  Now that our bond is complete you need to know everything.  My previous Director, Davis Keller, was the nephew of the Center’s founder and financier, Jordan Keller.  The Keller family line has been involved in this project since Jordan’s brother and Davis’ father, Sanford Keller, first stumbled on the root principles of the time technology.  The mission Davis and I were on when he died was conceived by his Uncle Jordan.  It seems that a viable ripple in time was detected and upon investigation was going to change the ownership of the Center and threaten the very existence of the Probe project with its directives as we now know it.  Jordan Keller suspected that one of the only two privately owned time probes in existence was used to go back in time and change the outcome of a financial transaction that will alter our present time line and bring the ownership of the Center into hostile hands.

Davis was killed while performing a maintenance procedure outside of my perimeter.  As you already know, during a transit through time my physical shell, what I refer to and you know as my perimeter, moves through a medium that has been called flux.  This flux will not support life and is merely the glue, for the lack of a better term, between one moment of time and the next.  One of my sensors designed to sense the rate of time passing needed to be replaced and Davis was the only one available for the task.  The job had to be done while in the shift mode, forcing Davis into the flux in order to replace and calibrate the sensor.  Otherwise we could have stopped in real time and no risk would have been necessary for the outside repair.  While allowing my automation program full control of the fairly simple procedure, I have discovered that an OIA code was received by my system control comp.  The Operational Immediate Action code is an order to comply without verification or prior authorization.  This code can only be sent by someone with a special prefix identifier.  This identifier is only available for use by a high level ops technician ordered to send any immediately actionable instructions with no questions asked.  The OIA order received was to disconnect any exterior hardware immediately and phase back into regular time to avert imminent damage from an oncoming time wave.  This in itself is not an uncommon occurrence and nothing to throw up an alarm. What I found out after  Davis’ repair sphere was disconnected, ultimately causing his death, was that the sensor malfunction was false caused by intentional programming so Davis would have no other choice but enter the flux for the repair.  Whoever programmed the sensor malfunction knew exactly when Davis would be vulnerable and it was then the OIA code was sent.

                “This prefix identifier you mentioned, can you trace who has the authority to utilize this power?”  Lock knew there was going to be a confrontation soon. “You’re suggesting that Davis was murdered and that you were meant to be lost in time.  A chicken without a head as the old expression goes.”

As I have come to expect, your grasp of the true meaning of this situation is right on target. The Directors function is vital to a Probes operation.  The combination of Artificial Intelligence and live input of moral, ethical and cognitive decision making is critical.  The party who was behind the OIA instruction transmission fully intended to cause a mission shutdown, preventing the information gathering objective and knowing a loss like this could prevent the true motives from ever coming to light.  When our mission readiness is acknowledged by control, we will again resume active operations.  We may have to return with Davis’ body but might also be directed to continue our original mission considering the gravity of what has happened and time literally may be of the essence.

                “How long will Central consider our situation?  This spokesperson, who is he?  Is he trustworthy?” Lock was anxious to clean this mess up and get on with normal operations.  He wanted his own mission and didn’t like the roll of cleanup hitter.

Incorruptible, Lee Melman has been with the Probe project from its conception.  His integrity and powers of persuasion have been the deciding factor keeping the program on track for years.  Melman has suffered the pressures of three previous Directorate Managers and now serves a fourth. 

                “If Melman is our life line, will he be the one to pass our concerns and the facts of Davis’ loss on to his Uncle Jordan?” Lock felt they were in for some old fashioned revenge and possibly quite a storm.

Melman will report to his boss, the newest Directorate Manager Andrew Kenfer, Kenfer will reluctantly but certainly report to Jordan Keller and the Center’s Commission of Elders.  At that point Jordan Keller will unleash his dogs.  He will take charge of the situation with gusto.  Our orders will be arriving soon so be prepared to begin in all earnest. 

                Although excited to begin, Lock couldn’t help but dread the coming communication…..