It's A Wonderful Backstep
By David Lee Rickman II



(Electronic globe spreads over the screen. Locator spans western United States and focuses. Destination: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA).

Scene is a dark corner of a 7-11. A man drinks a can of soda when a car pulls slowly up 10 feet in front of him. The car flashes its head lights three times. Four men get out of the car and walk toward the man.

"Mayor Caldwell, are you alone?"

"Of course I am alone. This is an election year, isn't it?"

"Of course. I apologize. I assume you have the money."

"Maybe, do you have the stuff?"

The leader snapped his fingers at a smaller man. The smaller man went to the back of the car and opened the trunk. In the trunk was $300 thousand worth of cocaine.

Just as the money and supplies were exchanging hands, a sneeze came from behind a row of shrubs about 18 yards away.

"What was that?" The leader looked around.

"Freeze! Los Angeles police! You're all under arrest!"

"It's a bust!" The leader grabbed Mayor Caldwell and holds a gun to his head. "Don't move or he gets it!"

Gun fire starts to erupt. When it was all over, seven men lay dead and four more are wounded. Among the dead was Mayor Caldwell.

~~*~~*~~

(Electronic globe locator moves from Los Angeles California and refocuses on Nevada. Destination: NEVER-NEVER LAND).

"Hi. Are you busy Mr. Parker?" Dr. Ballard asked while knocking on Parker's open door.

"Come on in Ballard." Parker put down the book he was reading in bed.

"Mr. Parker, before I tell you something, I just want you to understand that I am not the kind of person who makes it a habit to gossip. However, there is something you should know about Ramsey..."

"Well, I know that. Is this gossip any good?"

"I think it's worth at least $15 to you."

"Oh, I see." Parker considered this deal for a moment. "But this had BETTER be good."

Parker was about to reach for his wallet, but then a loud siren resonated throughout the complex.

"Is that what I think it is?" Parker was stunned. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

Ballard began thinking aloud. "That's the siren to let us know the sphere has arrived from the future. But that's impossible because you're still here."

"Could Donnovan have backstepped?"

"I don't know. It's possible."

"I don't like this. Ballard, if I didn't make the backstep, then something's happened...I mean will happen to me. Let's go check this out."

~~*~~*~~

Ballard and Parker enter the debriefing room, the customary place to meet if Parker hasn't appear in the hanger and they need to wait for his call.

Talmedge smiled at Parker as he walked behind Ballard. "Mr. Parker, you sure are quick! Where's the sphere?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, 'I don't know.'?"

"Just what I said. I've been with Ballard all this time."

Everybody in the room was stunned. Then they all looked at Donnovan to make sure he was still there.

Mentor rubbed his chin. "If you're still here, and Donnavan is here, then who's in the sphere?"

Ramsey turned on his walkie-talkie. "I want a roll call of all base personnel on the base now."

Olga complimented Ramsey for his thinking. "Great idea, somebody else on the base must have made the backstep."

"But what could happen to cause Donnovan and Parker unable to backstep?"

An announcement came over the intercom.

"The sphere's location has been confirmed. It is in Los Angeles California. I repeat, the sphere is in Los Angeles California."

Just then another voice came over the intercom. "Talmedge, I have a call from somebody. She claims to be conundrum."

"She?"

"Yes sir, it's a female. I'll put her on line one if you want to talk to her."

"Yes...Yes, by all means." Talmedge pushes the button. "Yes, who is this?

"This is conundrum. In five days a drug bust gone bad will cause a race riot in Los Angeles. We need to make sure Mayor Caldwell isn't shot."

"O.K. Conundrum. Where are you right now?"

"I am at a motel on the corner of Artesia and Supulvida. It's called the Lazy Dazy Motel, room 13-A."

"O.K. conundrum. We'll be there to brief you in about five hours. Over and out."

Ramsey shock his head. "What the Hell is that? A female claiming to be conundrum. How could that be?"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out."

~~*~~*~~

A knock came a few hours later at room 13-A of the Lazy Dazy Motel.

"Yes." A woman with long blond hair wearing a metallic jumpsuit opened the door. Two men wearing black suits with dark sunglasses were standing in front of her. "Conundrum?"

"Yes, but who are you..." The men grabbed her and forced her in the back of an unmarked van.

~~*~~*~~

Ramsey hovered over the woman later. "Who are you. And this time I mean your real name!"

"Candace Johnson. NSA Serial #195612004."

"Bull! I've checked and there's no such person or designated number. How did you find out about this project?"

"I work for this project!"

Ramsey slapped her on the face.

"Ramsey, I want to see you in here!" Talmedge's voice came over the intercom.

Ramsey walked to the next room where the Alpha Team sat watching behind a one-way mirror.

"Ramsey, I don't want you to slap her any more."

"Talmedge, she's not talking. I can't get her to tell the truth unless I torture her a little."

"This hasn't been our policy for a decade! Now, don't slap her again!"

"Well, I'll let you find someone else to interrogate her. I am outta here!" Ramsey slammed the door behind him.

Mentnor addressed the team. "Any ideas?"

"Maybe we could inject her with sodium pentathol."

"Maybe Olga, any other ideas?"

Frank Parker raised his hand. "Maybe we should believe her."

"What? How could it be."

"I don't know. Look, the sphere disappeared about the time she appeared. That should mean something."

Ballard spoke up. "I agree with Parker. It's Akmon's Razor: We can't prove she's lying, so we should assume she's telling the truth."

"Let me go in. I'll talk to her."

"Mr. Parker, I don't see what you can do."

"I am a backstepper. I should be able to tell if she's one also."

"Fine. But if you need help..."

"I won't hesitate to call for help. I know."

~~*~~*~~

Frank Parker walked into the room. Candace Johnson recoiled when she saw him. "You're not here to hit me also, are you?"

"No, no. I am a friend." Frank Parker started to untie her from the chair.

"I always knew Ramsey was a jerk, but I never thought one day he would get violent." Candace said rubbing her face.

"Would you mind if I ask you a few questions? You don't need to answer them if you don't want to. Your name is candace Johnson, right?"

"Yes."

Parker held out his hand so she could shake it. "Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"My name is Parker, Frank B. Serial # 923880305."

"You're a spook also?"

Frank shook his head. "Yes, I am a spook also. I used to be in Naval Intelligence, but then I went to the Gulf."

"The Gulf?"

"You know...Operation Desert Storm."

"No, I don't know. What happened?"

"I was captured by some Bosnians. They put me in a big metal box in the desert for a week before I was found. They sent me to a veteran's nut house because I had neurological damage from the heat. Then I left, and here I am."

"How terrible!" Candace than looked down. "I still don't understand what's going on."

"Tell me what you don't understand. Maybe I can help."

"I came back in the sphere and reported in like I was supposed to. Some apes grab me later, and Ramsey starts treating me like he's never seen me before. This is the base, but its like I am in a whole other world."

"Maybe you are."

"What's that?"

"Nothing. I need to leave now, but I'll see you later." Parker starts to leave, but then he turns back. "Besides, it's my turn to leash up and muzzle Ramsey tonight."

Candace laughs. "Good bye Frank."

~~*~~*~~

"Ballard, what's the chances of accidentally going to an alternate time line during a backstep?"

"I don't know Mr. Parker. It could happen, but I don't know the probability."

"But it could happen?"

"It could...Maybe. Olga, what's your opinion?"

"Well, we know that each time Parker backsteps, an alternative timeline happens. But it is always the same one where everything preceeding it never changes."

"So.," Parker thinks out loud. "There might be time lines where I never back-stepped and somebody else was picked for the project."

"Why do you bring that up?"

Parker turns and looks out the window while continueing. "When I was talking to her, she didn't have any idea what the Gulf War was. If it wasn't for the Gulf War, I wouldn't be here. I think on her time line, that war never happened."

"So on some time line parallel to ours, you're doing something else."

"I wonder...." But Parker stopped. Maybe he should think about his ex-wife and son later. But then again, on some distant world, maybe he's still married to Pam.

~~*~~*~~

Tamedge sat at his desk in the debriefing room. The others of the Alpha team sat on folding chairs placed in a circle, with Candace Johnson facing Talmedge in the front.

"Mr. Ramsey, I don't think we need to hold a gun to her anymore."

"I am head of security on this base, and I am responsible for this base."

"Fine, " Parker said. "Just don't do anything stupid."

~~*~~*~~

Talmedge addressed Johnson. "I know what's happening to you may seem strange, and we apologize for any pain we've caused you. I don't know how to explain this to you. Ballard, would you like to try."

"Well, we've been examining the sphere. It looks the same on the outside, but internally it's slightly different. Just a different transistor here, and a different diode there. Overall, the circuitry's the same, maybe even superior in preformance to our sphere."

"Ms. Johnson," Olga continued. "We think you're from a time line parallel to ours. In your time line, you're a backstepper. In your time line you know Donnovan, Ballard, Ramsey, Talmedge, Mentnor, and myself. In our time line, we're all similar people, but Mr. Parker here is our backstepper."

"Amazing, but now what?"

"Well, somehow since you've entered our time line, our sphere has disappeared. We want to figure out a way to send you back and get our sphere back since we think its translated into your time line. Until then we're going to have to confine you to this base. Do you have any questions?"

"Well, you said I am now on an alternative time line wher somethings are the same, but other things are different, right?"

"That's correct."

"Then what about my mission?"

Talmedge slapped his hand against his forehead. "I am sorry. After all this commotion, we forgot about the reason you're here."

"Might be here," Olga spoke up. "We don't know if what's happened to her time line five days ago will happen here."

"Agreed. Parker, Ms. Johnson, we might need to send you both back to Los Angeles. Ramsey, I need you to do a background check on Mayor Caldwell. We'll all report back here later today. Dismissed!

~~*~~*~~

Olga and Parker were in Parker's room whiie Parker was packing.

"Mr. Parker, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Why, are you jealous that I am going off to Los Angeles with a beautiful blond and not you?"

"No, I just don't think you can work well with beautiful women. Besides, how much do we really now about her?"

"I know that there are now two backsteppers on this base. Now Ms. Johnson and I can form a backsteppers union for better wages and better management."

"Mr. Parker, I am a scientist. As I scientist I rely on fact and not faith."

"Well, do you believe a mass smaller than a quark exploded and caused the big bang?"

"Of course."

"Where did the mass come from?"

"That's a ridiculous question. That's like asking where one mile south of the north pole is."

"See, you can't explain it. You have faith from the calculations and observations that that theory is correct. As a backstepper, faith has gotten me through some tight spots." Parker snapped his suitcase shut. "I am not a scientist, I am a guinea pig. My faith is that the scientist has left a piece of cheese at the end of the maze. Now let's go to the meeting."

~~*~~*~~

"Mr. Ramsey, what are your findings?"

"Well, Mayor Caldwell has had a drug problem for almost a decade. As a mayor, he's helped the police make various drug busts while secretly getting help for his addictions. The drug dealers believe as a mayor he has too much to lose if the public finds out. The police prevent the drug dealers from communicating with each other after they're captured as best as they can. According to this so called hot-shot backstepper, Mayor Caldwell was making a drug deal when some dumb a-- cop sneezed and blew their cover. The public thought it was suspicious that the black mayor had 15 bullets in his body, and they assumed it was racially motivated..."

"And the riots that followed prevented a proper special election from electing a new mayor. I see." Mentnor finished.

Talmedge looked up from his folder. "Everything seems to be set up for the scenerio to occur here. Mr. Parker, Ms. Johnson report to the runway now to catch our plane waiting to go."

As they were leaving Candace turned to Frank. "How come they refer to their backsteppers by their last name here?"

~~*~~*~~

"They just do."

"You beat me again!"

Usually Frank loses poker games about twice a month. Already on this plane he's won three and Candace has won five.

"I have to admit you're pretty good. Where'd you learn how to play poker?"

"I have a hand-held game back home with thirty-three differnt games of chance. So tell me more about you're other missions."

"Well, I once split during a backstep and had to battle my evil side."

"I hope that never happens to me.." Candace looked down. "..when I get back to my timeline."

"Cheer up. I am positive that Ballard and Olga will find a way to get you back."

A voice came over the intercom. "Conundrum, we're now landing in Los Angeles. Please buckle up."

~~*~~*~~

Mentnor knocked on Olga's door. "I hope I am not bothering you Ms. Vukavitch.

"I am not busy. Please come in."

"I saw your office light on, and you're usually not here this late."

"Well, I think I have a theory of how to get Ms. Johnson back to her time line. I thought I would work it out tonight so I could tell Ballard about it tomorrow."

"Why are you so anxious to get Ms. Johnson back to her time line?"

Olga began looking through a stack of print-outs. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you've never stayed after hours before to work on any backstepping problem."

"What are you saying?"

"Ms. Johnson and Mr. Parker have several things in common. A certain empathy if you will. They're both backsteppers so they have similar emotions to this project."

"Are you saying that I feel guilty for being so distant from Mr. Parker?"

"Only you know for sure. You're not the first woman ever to feel jealous when a man is spending too much time with another woman. I've been guilty of that several times and my wife's jealous every time. In the end, she knows I love her and would never abandon her."

"But isn't it ethical to send her back?"

"By all means, we should send her back. But except for Donnovan's friendship, Parker feels isolated. Now Parker's found somebody he could honestly talk to." Mentor starts to go out the door. "But when she's gone, who will replace her in Parker's life?"

~~*~~*~~

After Mentnor left, Olga rocked back in forth in her chair for a few moments. Then she got up, picked up her coat, and left the office. "It's not because of what Mentnor said; it's because I need sleep so I can work tomorrow," she thought to herself.

~~*~~*~~

"Mr. Kornell, a Mr. Parker and Ms. Johnson are here from the NSA to see you."

Mr. Kornell pushed the intercom button. "Thanks Sharri, send them in."

Mr. Kornell shook their hands as they sat down. "Well, well, it's not often NSA gets involved with the Drug Enforcement Agency. How can we help you today?"

Frank stared at Mr. Kornell suspiciously. "We want some information about one of you drug informants."

Mr. Kornell gave him an overly rehearsed smile. "Our information is your information," Kornell took a gulp from his can of Dr. Pepper.

"We want to know about Mayor Caldwell," Candace quickly added.

Mr.Kornell briefly choked on his drink and looked at them. "I..uh...excuse me?"

Frank handed him an NSA folder. "We know of 17 drug busts Mayor Caldwell has been involved in."

Kornell looks through the folder quickly. "Look, we do use him as a drug informant, but why should the NSA be concerned?"

"We just want to know if he's going to be in another one this week. If he is, we would appreciate it if you'd call it off."

"Call it off? Who do you think you are?"

"Look, the mayor is very popular with the minority voters. If something should happen to him.."

Kornell tossed the folder back at Parker and Candace. "and nothing will happen,,,"

Suddenly a cell phone rang in Kornell's pocket. "Hello, Mayor Caldwell, I am sorry, but this is a bad time. Can I call you back in a few minutes? Thanks.Bye."

"Well, I guess we'd better go Frank.," Candace said.

"We haven't got the response we came for!" Frank said rather frustrated.

"Trust me, we don't need him."

Kornell shouted at them as they left. "...And stay away from the mayor!"

~~*~~*~~

Parker turned to candace after they got back in their car. "Geesshhh...That Kornell is almost as bad as Ramsey. I would hate to see those two get in a fight! But we should probably talk to his supervisor.

"We don't need to." Candace reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "Tah duh!"

Parker shrugged his shoulders. "So?"

"I guess you weren't paying attention either. After Kornell talked to Mayor Caldwell and layed the phone on his desk, I switched my phone for his. Now when mayor Caldwell calls Kornell, I can act as his secretary and you can impersonate him."

Frank chuckled. "You think like a backstepper, that's for sure."

~~*~~*~~

Ramsey was pacing back and forth when Talmedge walked in. "Ramsey, are you still nervous?"

"Of course I am! Now I have two loonies I am responsible for."

"I am positive we can trust Ms. Johnson. All the evidence we have supports her story."

"Well, I didn't become head of security by making assumptions. Heck, Parker hasn't even reported back at all today."

"Ramsey, if it makes you feel any better, you can call Parker yourself."

Ramsey reached for his phone. "I'll do just that, and I'll give Parker an ulcer before he gives one more to me."

~~*~~*~~

Kornell reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Hello, Parker? Why haven't you reported in today?" Ramsey barked.

"Who is this?"

Ramsey bellowed back. "Who are you? What are you doing with Parker's phone? That's government property!"

"You have the wrong number."

Ramsey's face was red. "I did not! I used speed dialing! Now where's Frank Parker?"

"I don't know, but I assure you I'll find out!" Kornell hung up and pushed the button of his intercom. "Sharri, I want an all points bulletin on a Frank Parker and Candace Johnson."

~~*~~*~~

"Frank! That must be mayor Caldwell!" Candace picked up the phone. "Mr. Kornell's office, Sharri speaking."

"So, you did switch phones with me!"

Frank could tell something was wrong by Candace's pale face. "What's wrong?," Frank whispered. "Oh, that's just great! What's he saying?"

"Mostly besides the profanity, he's describing what he'll do with us when he catches us. Now what do we do?"

~~*~~*~~

Later the next day, Mr. Kornell's assistant was standing in front of Kornell's desk. "Sir, are you sure you still want the drug bust to occur tonight?"

"This has been planned for two months, and no NSA spook is going to scare us. Besides, if Mayor Caldwell cancels the meeting, we might lose our connections. We'll just add a few more men to make sure those two don't show up."

~~*~~*~~

"Frank, I think this may be just too big for you to handle."

"Don't worry mentnor, we are on top of this."

"O.K., but remember you have every cop in L.A. looking for you two. If you get caught, you're on your own for a little while."

"Thanks. Don't worry, we can avoid the cops. By the way, tell Ramsey not to call us, we'll call him." Parker hung up and left the telephone booth, ducking from the sight of a nearby police cruiser. "Candace, we're going to have to lay low until tonight. I hope you don't want to go to a doughnut shop until then."

~~*~~*~~

Mayor Caldwell stood in a dark corner of a 7-11, drinking a can of soda. "Why me?," he asked himself. Then he saw the car pull up 10 feet in front of him, and put his soda down on a nearby bench. The car flashes its head lights three times; the designated sign. Four men get out of the car and walk toward the mayor.

"Mayor Caldwell, are you alone?"

"Of course I am alone. This is an election year, isn't it?"

"Of course. I apologize. I assume you have the money."

"Maybe, do you have the stuff?"

The leader snapped his fingers at a smaller man. The smaller man went to the back of the car and opened the trunk. In the trunk was $300 thousand worth of cocaine.

Just as the money and supplies were exchanging hands, a car comes speeding out of nowhere.

"What was that?," a nearby officer hiding behind the nearby shrubs asked another officer.

"That's that female spook," Mr. Kornell said out loud. "Now! Now!"

"Freeze! Los Angeles police! You're all under arrest!"

"It's a bust!" The leader grabbed Mayor Caldwell and holds a gun to his head. "Don't move or he gets it!" The leader felt a blow to the back of his head and collapsed to the ground.

Mr. Kornell cursed under his breath. "And there's Parker. That idiot!"

One of the shorter dealers aim his gun at Parker and shot. Frank's body twists and falls to the ground. "FFRRRAAANNKKKK!" Candace screams and jumps out of the car, only to be held back by a nearby cop.

~~*~~*~~

"Dr. Andrews, please report to room three-two-seven...Dr. Andrews to room three-two-seven."

Dr. Andrews entered and greeted everybody in room #327. Candace shook Dr. Andrews's hand. "Is Frank going to be all right?"

"Don't worry. Mr. Parker just fainted when he felt the bullet. All that he'll have is a scar."

Frank started to moan.

"Speak of the devil." The doctor chimmed.

"The devil?," Frank moaned. Ramsey stared at Frank."Parker, what do you think you were doing out there?"

"Ramsey? Oh, I did die and go to Hell."

Talmedge and Mentnor laughed. Talmedge reassured Parker. "No, you're still alive. You just blacked out. Don't worry, you'll be discharged to the base infermiry later today to recover.

"Thanks. Is Olga here?"

Mentnor shook his head. "She wanted to come, but I told her not to. Ballard and Olga have some last minute details to work out."

Candace smiled at Parker. "They believe they can get me back home. Isn't that great?"

~~*~~*~~

"The idea is Olga's. It's rather brilliant really. Would you like to tell them?" Ballard turned to Olga. Olga shook her head. "When the sphere goes back in time, it does so by producing a gravitational field that warps space-time. We've always imagined this warp as a bubble or balloon. There must have been a gravity surge duing Ms. Johnson's last backstep when the gravity field was intensified while being pulsed at the natural resonant field of the sphere, acting like a ballon filled with water.

As the balloon was squeezed, the particles which make up the sphere were pushed out, through the 4th dimension to a point in the past in our parallel time where the sphere also is. At that point, another balloon which represents "our sphere" was "re-filled" to allow the sphere to teleport to our dimension."

Frank blinked in a daze "English please."

Ballard translated. "For some reason, there must have been a gravity surge during Ms. Johnson's last backstep, and her balloon and the one Parker would have produced connected, and the hardware compensated the additional mass. The balloon on our side had less pressure than on her side."

"I don't understand it, so it must be scientifically sound."

"When do I go?" Candace inquired.

"Right now if you're ready."

"You bet I am ready."

~~*~~*~~

An hour later Parker was with the rest of the Alpha team in the control room watching Candace being strapped into the sphere through the closed-circuit TV. "Boy, it sure is great to be a spectator for once." Parker commented.

Olga spoke through the microphone. "O.K. Candace, we're going to saturate the sphere's reactor to it's maximum limit of 123% and then cut the power to create a surge. You must engage the sphere at the exact moment I cut the power."

Candace nodded. "Affirmative. I engage the instant the power is cut."

Parker spoke up. "Good luck. Remember that you still have to prevent Mayor Caldwell from being shot on you're time line."

Candace smiled. "Frank, I'll locate you when I get back to my time line."

Ballard initiated the backstep process. Olga read the power level as it increased. "Reactor to 70%...80%....90%." A sheet of energy surrounded the sphere. Sparks arced from one point of the sphere to another. Reactor to 105%...110%...123%. Cutting power. Engage! Engage!"

The sphere became a luminous blue light...and the sphere was still there!

"What happened? Why didn't it work?" Parker was taken aback."

"It did work. That's our original sphere." Ballard reassured him pointing to the closed-circuit screen. "See? It's empty."

~~*~~*~~

After a period of celebration, the individuals of the Alpha team seperated to go about their duties.

Parker was talking with Donnovan when he meet Ramsey in the hall. "Well Parker, how do you feel now as the only loony on the base again?"

"Who says I am the only weird one on the base? What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Doggiedoor."

After Parker said doggiedoor, Ramsey got on his hands and knees and started to bark like a dog.

Donnovan couldn't understand what was happening. "What the..What's happening?"

Parker grinned. "Ballard had a hypnotist at his birthday party last week. Ramsey was hypnotized to bark like a dog each time he hears the word 'doggiedoor' he acts like a dog for a minute."

Donnovan and Parker continued on down the hall.

~~*~~*~~

Frank Parker returned home at six o'clock. His wife greeted him at the door. "A package came for you today."

"A package? From whom?"

"I don't know, all the return address says is 'Conundrum.'"

Frank Parker opened the package. Inside he found a hand-held poker game. Under the game he found a photograph.

"What's that?" Pam asked.

"It looks like some kind of blue sphere."

"How strange. I am sure its a practical joke of some kind. Just put it down now and help me in the kitchen."



THE END