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Chapter 4
Harriet ignited all the gas lamps along the basement wall with het lit taper. Gradually, the basement gave up its darkness to pockets of light, exposing parts of the laboratory until eventually the whole of the basement revealed worktops, glass cabinets - that displayed all manner of gadgetry - and of course the time machine itself.
“Here it is!” said Harriet sounding like a proud mother showing off her talented offspring.
“It’s a…” Agatha said lost for words.
“I know, It’s a box camera on a tripod.” said Harriet, detecting Agatha's disappointment. “However, a box camera with enough anti-matter inside it to not only absorb this room but our own planet plus the known universe if not contained!”
Agatha continued to circle the camera. “And it was this that pulled me here out of my own time?”
“Three days ago,” said Harriet. “In that very corner,” she pointed to the far side of the laboratory. “I was testing the core reaction of the black hole within the camera, when suddenly, it shot out a ray of purple light and began to open up a time vortex.
I had no idea that one was even in here, Galileo must have missed this one out in his predictions. Anyway, the vortex faulted for a while and I thought that was it. Then it came back again only brighter. Before I had a chance to turn it off, you came crashing through.”
Agatha moved away from the box camera her attention now was taken up the blackboard covered in chalk symbols and equations. The whole thing reminded her of alchemist runes she once saw as a child in a book.
Harriet watched as Agatha traced the equations with the index finger. Then Harriet’s eyes followed Agatha over to the giant glass bell jars. She stared into its inky black swirling mass. It was the blackest black she had ever seen.
“Black holes” volunteered Harriet. “I’m harvesting them!”
Agatha looked over the top of one of the jars into the grinning face of Harriet Wells.
“I read about those in Einstein’s book…” Agatha started to say.
The smile from Harriet’s face should melted at the name of the German physicist. “Why does everyone keep quoting him! All his work is just theory. I’ve actually harnessed a black hole, thanks to Galileo’s lost manuscript!”
“You mentioned Galileo just now, was it he who first discovered black holes then?” questioned Agatha.
“That and many other things, including ‘Time Waves’.”
Harriet went over to a bookcase and after hitching up her skirt, climbed the wooden ladder to the third shelf. With one hand on the ladder she delved deep behind the shelf with her free hand. “Ah! There it is!” she said triumphantly. “I keep moving it around, you know, best to keep any potential thief on their toes.”
With a long leather tube safely tucked under her arm, Harriet made her way back down the ladder. Once both feet were on the floor, she went with it to one of the benches and cleared away the detritus of passed experiments.
With an air of reverence, Harriet gently pulled the velum manuscript out of the tube and unfurled it on the work surface. Agatha stood beside Harriet and in faded sepia ink she could see what looked like to her to be just a load of squiggly lines and very neat handwritten Italian next to it.
“Time Waves!” said Harriet. Then thrusting her hand into her tweed skirt pocket, she produced a stick of chalk. Quickly moving towards the blackboard, she flipped it over and started to copy the squiggles from the manuscript on the blackboard.
“I have a theory,” Harriet began to say, still scribbling with her back towards Agatha. “That sound comes in waves.”
Agatha was about to say something confirming Harriet’s theory when she remembered that, that discovery was duly going to be accredited to Guglielmo Marconi in the year 1909. Agatha just bit her tongue and carried on listening to Harriet ramble on.
“And so, does time!” Harriet said looking over her shoulder to the now seated Agatha.
“I discovered,” continued Harriet. “That time comes in big waves,” she drew a giant arc on the blackboard. “And little waves.” She concluded, hardly moving the chalk at all. Then tapping the little arc, she added. “It’s at these points where time is at its thinnest.
“That’s all very interesting,” remarked Agatha. “But how do I get back to 1926?”
Harriet side-stepped a pile of books on the floor and once again climbed her ladder. This time only as far as the first shelf. She pulled out an old green leather-bound book. Not wanting to lose her balance, she asked Agatha to take it off her.
Back at the bench Harriet rolled up the manuscript and placed it back in its leather tube. She then opened the old book and thumbed her way to nearly the middle. This time she stopped at a long column of dates and locations written in the same sepia Italian.
“According to Galileo, the next time 1926 is at its thinnest is tonight at 11:59pm in the Egyptology section of the British Museum. Which is…” Harriet looked at her fob watch. “In precisely three hours!"
To be continued...
© Alice White
“Here it is!” said Harriet sounding like a proud mother showing off her talented offspring.
“It’s a…” Agatha said lost for words.
“I know, It’s a box camera on a tripod.” said Harriet, detecting Agatha's disappointment. “However, a box camera with enough anti-matter inside it to not only absorb this room but our own planet plus the known universe if not contained!”
Agatha continued to circle the camera. “And it was this that pulled me here out of my own time?”
“Three days ago,” said Harriet. “In that very corner,” she pointed to the far side of the laboratory. “I was testing the core reaction of the black hole within the camera, when suddenly, it shot out a ray of purple light and began to open up a time vortex.
I had no idea that one was even in here, Galileo must have missed this one out in his predictions. Anyway, the vortex faulted for a while and I thought that was it. Then it came back again only brighter. Before I had a chance to turn it off, you came crashing through.”
Agatha moved away from the box camera her attention now was taken up the blackboard covered in chalk symbols and equations. The whole thing reminded her of alchemist runes she once saw as a child in a book.
Harriet watched as Agatha traced the equations with the index finger. Then Harriet’s eyes followed Agatha over to the giant glass bell jars. She stared into its inky black swirling mass. It was the blackest black she had ever seen.
“Black holes” volunteered Harriet. “I’m harvesting them!”
Agatha looked over the top of one of the jars into the grinning face of Harriet Wells.
“I read about those in Einstein’s book…” Agatha started to say.
The smile from Harriet’s face should melted at the name of the German physicist. “Why does everyone keep quoting him! All his work is just theory. I’ve actually harnessed a black hole, thanks to Galileo’s lost manuscript!”
“You mentioned Galileo just now, was it he who first discovered black holes then?” questioned Agatha.
“That and many other things, including ‘Time Waves’.”
Harriet went over to a bookcase and after hitching up her skirt, climbed the wooden ladder to the third shelf. With one hand on the ladder she delved deep behind the shelf with her free hand. “Ah! There it is!” she said triumphantly. “I keep moving it around, you know, best to keep any potential thief on their toes.”
With a long leather tube safely tucked under her arm, Harriet made her way back down the ladder. Once both feet were on the floor, she went with it to one of the benches and cleared away the detritus of passed experiments.
With an air of reverence, Harriet gently pulled the velum manuscript out of the tube and unfurled it on the work surface. Agatha stood beside Harriet and in faded sepia ink she could see what looked like to her to be just a load of squiggly lines and very neat handwritten Italian next to it.
“Time Waves!” said Harriet. Then thrusting her hand into her tweed skirt pocket, she produced a stick of chalk. Quickly moving towards the blackboard, she flipped it over and started to copy the squiggles from the manuscript on the blackboard.
“I have a theory,” Harriet began to say, still scribbling with her back towards Agatha. “That sound comes in waves.”
Agatha was about to say something confirming Harriet’s theory when she remembered that, that discovery was duly going to be accredited to Guglielmo Marconi in the year 1909. Agatha just bit her tongue and carried on listening to Harriet ramble on.
“And so, does time!” Harriet said looking over her shoulder to the now seated Agatha.
“I discovered,” continued Harriet. “That time comes in big waves,” she drew a giant arc on the blackboard. “And little waves.” She concluded, hardly moving the chalk at all. Then tapping the little arc, she added. “It’s at these points where time is at its thinnest.
“That’s all very interesting,” remarked Agatha. “But how do I get back to 1926?”
Harriet side-stepped a pile of books on the floor and once again climbed her ladder. This time only as far as the first shelf. She pulled out an old green leather-bound book. Not wanting to lose her balance, she asked Agatha to take it off her.
Back at the bench Harriet rolled up the manuscript and placed it back in its leather tube. She then opened the old book and thumbed her way to nearly the middle. This time she stopped at a long column of dates and locations written in the same sepia Italian.
“According to Galileo, the next time 1926 is at its thinnest is tonight at 11:59pm in the Egyptology section of the British Museum. Which is…” Harriet looked at her fob watch. “In precisely three hours!"
To be continued...
© Alice White
