All Things I've Done To Save You

Every Little Thing

Marwan and Made Oka smiled and nodded. This young man could appreciate other people’s hard work.

“For that very reason, we can only travel back in time, is that right?” asked Herman again.

“Precisely.” Made Oka nodded promptly, confirming Herman’s statement. “Anyway, we don’t have either people or things from the future,” he said in a not too serious tone. “If there is one, we can do time travel to the future.”

“And then, how can a human body enter the quantum realm, an entity or realm that consists of neutrino structures?” Herman asked again, still curious.

This time Marwan didn’t give an immediate answer. He only exchanged glances with Made Oka who was equally surprised by Herman’s critical question. Marwan dug deep into his thought first, trying to arrange the words so the young lad could understand the answer.

“In principle, a human body has a neutrino structure too. With the help of electromagnetic field, we modify the human atomic structures and synchronize it with the intended time and space recorded in the neutrinos and transported the whole human atoms into the real world in the past as per the selected records.”

Herman raised both his eyebrows. Marwan felt amused to see the behavior of the wise-Aleck young man with his sincerely serious expression on his face.

Another question came from the young man. “So, if a human can’t go back to his own original time and space, he will be trapped in the neutrino record?” Herman guessed.

For the second time, Marwan nodded with gusto, confirming Herman’s conclusion. He then shook his head and showed a worried facial expression.

“That’s why we can’t just come and go freely to any time and space of our fancy. If that happens, it will cause chaos, a time anomaly,” said Marwan.

Herman examined Marwan’s face seriously, waiting for what this quantum physics expert would explain next.

“Because if that happens, we shall meet two, even more of ourselves at the same time. Until at last, we don’t know who among them is the real us.”

Herman was taken aback and gulped on hearing that last piece.

“That means if we depart from a certain time, we must come back at the same second as the time of departure?” Herman asked rhetorically. “Although in the destination you linger for a few seconds or a day, a month, or even a century?”

“Yup!” Marwan responded sharply.

Herman was deep in his thoughts at once and his brain was trying to digest those out of the generally logical box theories, though he was a student in the Physics major at the university.

Just then Herman heard and saw Amanda came and hugged her parents. Herman even conversed with Amanda a bit, saying that he was about to search and bring her back home. However, he was shocked to see himself coming with Amanda. Herman was then sure that he was hallucinating, so he turned away as he was already on the time machine platform. When he turned back, Amanda and Herman’s freakish clone were gone from sight and he sighed with relief.

Without regarding the young fellow who was as though in a trance, Made Oka looked at the big holographic monitor on the platform he was on and saw that the machine has reached one hundred percent ready and heated up. After he was sure nothing was amiss, he announced to the rest of the team, beside himself, Marwan, and Herman who were already standing on the platform.

“All right, search and rescue team, please step on the platform. We shall depart immediately!”

At that time, all eyes were staring at the platform and all feet of all team members were stepping and standing on the platform.

Blue lights began to gleam, surrounding the circle-shaped platform like a curtain to limit the affected area of neutrino emission for time travel. All technicians and all people in that room started to put on their glasses that were readied beforehand. Every face was tense. They looked hopeful and concerned at the same time, while they keep staring at the search and rescue team.

Anything could happen during that dangerous mission, and all of them could only pray and hope for the best.

Meanwhile, the owner of this project set a prying eye on all his employees. “The news of my granddaughter missing in the Old World Age must not leak out from this room!” Reign bellowed.

The scientists and the search team listened to the sole patron and financier of this project’s words intently. “If not, not only I who shall suffer a total loss after investing my fortune in this time-traveling business. But you will also lose your jobs. Plus, your working experience here will be useless because the time machine will be regarded as too dangerous, even in the limited AVR mode! People will be too afraid to do time-traveling vacations, ever! And not only InterTime, but Tunnel Incorporated will also be doomed if we fail.”

No one dared to argue with Reign’s statement, although they knew InterTime was already doomed when Marwan and Oka left the company. Good thing Reign has invested heavily in Tunnel Inc. too, so their employment would be ensured, either in Jakarta or somewhere else if this facility must be shut down after this last mission.

And then Marx Reign moved away, keeping a fair distance from the platform and especially the blue-lighted lines.

Herman, Marwan and Made Oka. Three armed men, including Bill were ready with their guns and blades. Plus one more man, Mr. Jhaansen was the technician of the time machine, the whole team consisted of seven men.

Before Made touched a button, he saw the expressions of Suranto and Caroline who stood outside the platform with Mr. Reign. Strangely, they all smiled confidently as though the whole mission was already a success.

The touch screen start button on the Tempus Fugit in his hand was pressed by Made. At the same time, the countdown on the holographic big monitor was displayed, showing that the time machine was starting.

Just then, the circle platform got showered by particles of light covering it, forming a sphere above the platform – more like a dome. This time the particles were white and were projected from devices that looked like big flashlights. The flashlights were circular so the lights on the platform formed a dome too. This is a different time machine design than the inferior ones for commercial use, the ChronoTours AVR Time Machine.

The emitted light was very dazzling to the eye, and that’s the purpose of black sunglasses at that moment like this.

But the ones on the platform didn’t need sunglasses, because they didn’t see and didn’t get dazzled by the neutron lights. The ones on the platform didn’t seem like the ones outside the platforms did.

Marwan and Herman who were just undergoing this time travel stood, their eyes looking everywhere around them. They didn’t feel anything, only standing on that platform with the others, and didn’t move anywhere.

And then they saw changes happening slowly around them. A different view began to appear in the big hall. From somewhat blurry, the new view became clearer like breaking dawn in place of the night. On the contrary, the indoor laboratory view began to fade, until it completely vanished and was replaced with another view.

“Watch out! Hold on to something tightly!” said Mr. Jhaansen with a pinch of humor, of him holding his own body as though he was shivering.

At last Marwan and his team arrived in the Pliosen Age, the Old World, precisely at the numerals displayed on the holographic monitor in front of them.

 A totally strange world came into view. The machine was now in the middle of a dense forest. As far as he could see, what he saw were only dense groups of trees. They were not magical trees, instead, they were just ordinary trees and grass, just the same as in their homeworld, Earth.

Made put his Tempus Fugit in the pouch hanging on his belt facing his back. Marwan and Herman just realized that they have arrived at their destination when they saw Made Oka walking down the platform.

The time machine they were riding on was not moving anywhere from one place to another, only the time moved back and stopped exactly as the time setting on the Tempus Fugit.

 Bright light from the sky above the forest penetrated through the leaves. Tree branches swayed to and fro, blown by the wind. Tree roots as big as their bodies were lying scattered on the forest floor, also lush with a variety of bushes. A few tree lizards on the branches were hunting for insects creeping and flying everywhere.

Slowly, Marwan followed Made Oka down the time machine. The young Herman who went with them felt strange when stepping on the soil of this strange Old World as Marwan did. Now they started to feel very cold, seasonless weather, but it made their bodies feel fresh. Despite that, this chilly temperature made the impression as though the sun didn’t have enough heat to warm their heads up.

Then, Marwan felt a splitting headache as though his body was so light as though he was about to faint. He then braced himself and started to walk down from the flat platform of the machine. On the other side of the mountain slope, they saw a magnificent view of the valley below them. 

Herds of prehistoric animals, also called dinosaurs were grazing together with their kind. The largest dinosaur with a very long neck chose to graze near the lake. But once in a while they stopped their activities and turned their heads around as though we were cautioned by something.

Marwan and Herman’s feet became wobbly and they lean on the ground a little as though they just got off an airplane and suffered from jet lag. Made Oka and the others understood their plight because they suffered the same symptoms as Marwan and Herman.  []

“Are we there yet?” asked Herman.

“Don’t be disappointed if the real-time travel is not like in science fiction movies or ChronoTours VR rides,” said Bill, teasing the seemingly gullible young man.

“But it still made me sick!”

“Ah, how come a crosser wants to puke when riding a carousel?” Jhaansen added, teasing Herman again to divert his time travel sickness.

Herman found himself in a very dense forest. Only a little sunlight penetrated the thick of the leaves.

 Meanwhile, the team started to move forward. Marwan and Herman followed wherever the team leader, Made Oka went. Now Marwan understood why the team was fully armed. It was the second time InterTime ventured into this exact timeline, so people like Bill knew that in the forest, a machete, for instance, was useful to chop off the branches blocking the way.

They then heard the muffled voices of animals, insects, and birds that were annoyed by the team’s footsteps going through the bushes.

Suddenly the team was shocked by a thundering low growl.

“Err, what sound was that?” asked Marwan and Herman at the same time, as though the two were connected. Herman was so shocked to see the incredible view in front of him, that only the word “Hu-uh!?” was uttered from his mouth.

A gigantic, monstrous beast was preying on a dead beast on the ground.

Herman and the rest of the team didn’t move a muscle. They were afraid they would attract the terrifying predator. It was the King of the Dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex, the exact specimen as seen in pictures or movies alive and real in front of them. Instinctively, on Bill’s signal, the team walked backward and hid behind the trees.

Meanwhile, the T-Rex was not aware and kept on gorging into its prey. It was very horrifying and grotesque to see T-Rex’s savage voracity, so Herman and almost all others didn’t want that voracious dinosaur to detect their presence in any way.

Unexpectedly, Jhaansen bellowed, “Look over here!” and moved forward. Of course, all were shocked.