Temporal Exploring 101 - Cultural Immersion

II.1 Riemann on rollerblades

This time the transition was instantaneous, or that's what it felt like. No psychedelic light effects, no cross-fading or anything.

One moment, we were caught in the middle of a fiery inferno in the volleyball hall of St. Albert's, a British boarding school for girls in the 1960s. The next instant, we found ourselves sitting on the transit pad at the Transit Control Center of the Institute of Temporal Physics in the 23rd century.

They were all staring at us: my Temporal Instructor Prof. Sara Jenkins, her grad student Mira and the two technicians on duty. Staring at two teenage girls wearing school uniforms, huddled on the ground, disheveled, their skin grimy with soot.

"Great Gauss," Mira whispered.

One of the technicians cleared his throat. "Uh, wasn't there supposed to be only one person to be retrieved?"

Sara turned towards the two men.

"Gentlemen, you have done an excellent job here," she told them. "I will make sure to mention that when I talk to the director tomorrow." She smiled. "Please remember that you participated in an emergency operation tonight and that everything you have seen and heard in the cause of this operation will be treated as classified information, not to be disclosed to your colleagues at the institute or to outsiders."

"Of course." Both men nodded.

Sara thanked them for their support again, and they left the room. When the door had closed behind them, she turned towards me and Natty.

"Catherine." Her voice sounded deceptively mild. "You did not tell us that you planned to bring another girl."

I knew that her careful wording was for Natty's sake entirely.

"Look, we were in the middle of a fire and the roof was about to collapse," I told her. "What was I supposed to do? Leave her there to die?"

There was no immediate reply, either from Sara or from Mira. Because this was exactly what I ought to have done according to the 'Rules of Conduct and Best Practice for the Temporal Explorer'. Leave her there to die.

As a temporal explorer, you did not bring back another person from a remote temporal region. Not even to save their lives.

"But Sara, it was you who told us again and again in your classes that there are times when you just have to follow your intuition even if it means breaking all the rules," I pleaded.

My Temporal Instructor frowned. "Perhaps I have put a bit too much emphasis on that, on occasion," she conceded. "But Catherine, I have always stressed that only in certain extreme situations, at pivotal points in history, it is justified to go against the rules." She shrugged. "Anyway, what's done is done."

She turned towards Natty. "Poor girl, you must be terribly confused and bewildered to find yourself here. I am Professor Sara Jenkins." She indicated Mira. "And this is my graduate student, Mira Lamere."

Natty got to her feet and awkwardly extended her right hand.

"My name is Natalie Fogg," she introduced herself, "and I am not really confused or bewildered, at least no very much so."

There was a moment of shocked silence.

"Ah. I see." Sara shook hands with Natty.

"Riemann on rollerblades," Mira gasped. "Cathy, you brought Natty Fogg!"

Sara winced and shot her a disapproving look. 'Great Gauss' was quite acceptable as an exclamation of surprise. 'Riemann on rollerblades', not so much.

"Well, this changes things," Sara observed. "On second thought, you may have made the right decision to follow your intuition in this case, Catherine. Nevertheless, we need to carefully consider how to proceed from here."

She turned towards Natty. "You may not be aware of it, Miss Fogg, but what Catherine has done here ..."  

"Please call me Natalie, if you don't mind," Natty cut in.

"Alright. Natalie, then. By bringing you here from the past the way she did, Catherine has  violated one of the most basic ethical rules in temporal exploring."

"But she did it to save my life," Natty objected. "Which was only fair, considering how your time travel technology is like, entirely based on my equations, right?"

Sara frowned. "So you told her about that as well, Catherine? Is there anything that you did not tell her?"

My face grew hot. "I thought we were both going to die in that fire," I muttered.

"Actually, that would not be considered a good excuse," Mira observed. "By the Ethics Committee, I mean."

I flinched.

"That's right," Sara took up the ball. "Strictly speaking, I would be required to report your actions to the Ethics Committee, Catherine. They would schedule a hearing, most likely with dire consequences for your possible future career in temporal physics. Which is one of the reasons I hesitate to report you."

"What are the other reasons?" Natty asked.

"Those need not concern Catherine and you, at the moment." My Temporal Instructor cleared her throat. "Anyway, it ought to be obvious at this point that I am not prepared to announce to the world, or even to my colleagues here at the institute, that one of my students has brought Natalie Fogg from the past. For the moment, I suggest that we all relocate to my apartment. Both Catherine and Natalie can stay there until we have figured out what to do next. Are there any objections, or perhaps better ideas?"

The three of us shook our heads.

"Fine." Sara nodded. "Let's go, then."

Like all professors at the institute, Sara had an apartment on campus within walking distance of her office. Compared to my dorm room, I found it to be incredibly large and luxurious, boasting not only its own kitchen and bathroom but also a spare bedroom for guests.

While Mira waited in the living room, Sara ran Natty and me a bubble bath. She asked us to take off all our clothes so she could put them in the laundry.

I felt a bit embarrassed when I handed over my panties – after all, both Natty and I had quite literally peed our pants when we had been left tied up in the burning volleyball hall at St. Albert's – but to her credit Sara did not flinch or anything as she took them.

Left alone, Natty and I relaxed and luxuriated in the huge bathtub.

"So, how do you feel?" I asked her.

"Great. I feel great." Natty grinned. "I can't wait to get to know everything about your 23rd century. Do you suppose they will let me stay here, Cathy?"

"I have no idea," I replied.

Truth to tell, I seriously doubted it.

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A / N : Thanks for reading the first chapter of Cultural Immersion, Book Two of my Temporal Exploring 101 series.

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