Missions of the Retrieval Team - A Kilt By Any Other Name

[Splash_4]

Er,excuse me,who is this Jimmy Hoffa fellow?

Jimmy Hoffa was a Union Boss in the U.S. in the early 1970's. At some point he disappeared and has not been found since. There are many theories on his disappearance including his being buried in concrete in one of our sports stadiums.

For more info Click Here

[Jock Scot]

Ooooh dear.Thank you for enlightening me.

[davedove]

Scene 5

David’s Laboratory, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

We all gathered at the appointed time and then moved down to David’s laboratory, except for McClef and Ms. Swan. They were stationed at the tracking console.

Jerry took us to the portal he and David had created. It looked very much like something you would see in a cheap sci-fi movie. The portal itself was much as Jerry had described it, a simple door-sized frame of metal. To this frame were attached all kinds of wires and devices. This was all connected to a control panel that Jerry stood beside.

Jerry powered up the console and a low hum filled the room. He flipped a few switches and set a dial in front of him.

“Okay,” he said. “All I have to do is press this button.”

“Right,” said Ms. Starling. She then spoke into her radio. “Swan, are you ready?”

“Ready,” came Ms. Swan’s voice over the radio.

“Any time you’re ready,” Ms. Starling told Jerry.

“Everyone stay well clear of the portal,” Jerry told us. “We don’t want a repeat of yesterday. Here goes.” He pressed the button.

The space inside the frame flared into a picture. Although it was dark on the other side, the lights from our room shining through the portal illuminated a small area. I noticed it did indeed seem to be the valley below the mountain. I could make out the distinctive rock formation in the illuminated area.

“We’ve got it!” came Ms. Swan’s voice over the radio. “It’s weak, but it’s there.”

The image lasted only a few seconds and then disappeared so only the empty frame remained.

“It’s gone again,” came Ms. Swan’s voice.

“That’s what I suspected,” said Ms. Starling.

“What is it?” asked Jamie.

“I was testing to see if David’s signal was still active,” she answered. “When the portal opened, we could again pick up the signal. When the portal closed, the signal disappeared.”

“But if his signal is still active, where is he?” Todd asked.

Ms. Starling again spoke into the radio. “McClef, where was David’s signal originating.”

McClef's voice came over the radio. “According to the tracker,” he paused for a moment, “it was inside the Great Hall. But it’s not there anymore.”

Ms. Starling stood silent for a moment, deep in thought.

“What is it?” Hank asked impatiently.

“When trying to find something,” she answered, “It is often a wise approach to eliminate where it isn’t. My little experiment here showed that David’s signal is still active.”

“But it showed he is in the Hall,” said Jamie. “We searched every inch of this place and the surrounding country. He is nowhere near here.”

“Right,” she said. “He is not in the Hall, yet his signal showed he was, but only while the portal was active. That means he is located wherever the portal leads.”

“Again,” said Todd. “Where is he?”

“If the signal is active, which we just saw it is, we can track him anywhere on Earth. But we do not pick up a signal except when the portal is open, so I can only make one conclusion.”

“Which is?” Jamie demanded.

“Wherever David is, he’s no longer on Earth,” she said, “or at least not the Earth we know.”

[KiltedSkeleton]

Awesome. As much as I hate to rush good work...write faster please. What else am I going to do at work?

[12stones]

Awesome. As much as I hate to rush good work...write faster please. What else am I going to do at work?

*** Here, here...

[Standard]

Hmmm.... curiouser and curiouser. I like it. Interesting play between the three tales. Now, I think I need another Glenmorangie to await the next episode.

[Coemgen]

*sigh*

Oh dear, reality seems to be on the blink again.

On the bright side, though I hate to brag, I figured this out in scene 3

[davedove]

*sigh*

Oh dear, reality seems to be on the blink again.

On the bright side, though I hate to brag, I figured this out in scene 3

Coemgen suddenly disappears in a flash of blue light.

[davedove]

Scene 6

David’s Laboratory, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

“What do mean not on the Earth we know?” asked Todd.

“An alternate universe,” Jerry said thoughtfully.

“Exactly,” said Ms. Starling. “An Earth much like our own, but not ours, existing at the same time as ours. Normally, each would be completely unaware of the other, but somehow this portal has opened a passage between the worlds, if only briefly.”

“Isn’t that just a bunch of sci-fi hogwash?” asked Hank.

“It’s not impossible,” Jerry answered. “Scientists have long postulated the existence of other dimensions. I have always believed that my delivery system utilizes a parallel dimension to shorten my delivery times, in effect bypassing the distance a package would normally have to travel.”

“What would this other dimension be like?” asked Todd.

“There’s really no way to tell,” said Ms. Starling, “but from what we saw, at least the topography is very similar to our own. The theory is that every time one or more choices are present, a different universe exists for each choice.”

“What do you mean?” asked Colin.

“Well, imagine this scenario,” Ms. Starling explained. “You are driving across town. Something you had sitting in the passenger seat falls on the floor and you notice it. Now, you have a choice. Do you pick it up now or wait until you stop the car? If you pick it up now, your attention is momentarily distracted, you don’t see the truck that fails to stop at an intersection, and the truck plows into your car. If you don’t pick it up, you see the truck and have time to slam on your brakes. This occurrence has two different outcomes because of a simple choice. Two different universes now exist which branch apart based on this choice.”

“Wait a minute,” said Bradley. “Once I’ve made the choice, it’s made; I can’t back up and see what happened if I took the other choice.”

“Not in your current universe, once you’ve made the choice, you live with the consequences. You would be completely unaware of the universe where you made the other choice. In my example, if you waited to pick up the item, you avoid the accident and go on with your life. If you pick up the item and the truck hits you, you are injured in the accident, have to pay hospital bills, are unable to keep working, and so on. Each circumstance exists, but each is completely unaware of the other.”

“I think my brain hurts,” said Dee.

Ms Starling smiled. “Yes,” she said, “It’s a lot to wrap your head around, and normally only theoretical physicists and storytellers ever delve into the possibilities. If you are interested, there was a Mr. Brown in England who wrote a fascinating essay on it.”

“Ms. Starling,” I interrupted.

“Anyway,” she continued, “I believe this is exactly what has happened. Jerry’s portal has opened a passage between two universes and David has fallen through it.”

“But the real question,” said Hank, “is what are we going to do about it? Can we get David back?”

“As long as the portal can be activated,” Ms. Starling answered, “I think there is a very real possibility that we can.”

“But how?” Hank asked.

“Someone has to go get him,” I said. “Someone else has to go through the portal.”

[starbkjrus]

snip...

“I think my brain hurts,” said Dee.

...snip

I know my brain hurts.