

History Changers: Expedition 2022

by Beau Cornerstone

Published by Beau Cornerstone at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 by Beau Cornerstone

1st Edition

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Smashwords Edition License Notes

Before you start reading _History Changers_...

Did you swipe this ebook? Or accept a copy of a copy from someone else?

Yes - times are tough but authors have to eat. So do the people at Smashwords.

If you didn't purchase this ebook (e.g. voucher or money payment)

please visit Smashwords.com

Thanks for respecting the hard work that's gone into this ebook.

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Other ebooks in the Rebelutionaries series

Book 1: The Weathermakers

Book 2: The Codetalkers

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

For further reading

Other Rebelutionaries ebooks & info about vouchers

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Chapter 1

The wise man must remember that while he is a descendant of the past,

he is a parent of the future. -Herbert Spencer

December 23, 2022 06:00 hours.

"Well this is it, Kojak...Get a keepsake photo of us, eh?"

"Say Cheese!"

The young scientist managed to smile.

"Done."

"Hey Kojak... if one of us don't pull through this, I've enjoyed trail blazing with you."

"I'm confident we'll both pull through this. And that we'll be able to recommence work on your transporter project again together as soon as it's... feasible."

The young scientist drew a deep breath.

"I'm looking forward to that mate... Shut down sequence commencing now..."

The young man reached forward and flicked a series of switches. He wistfully rearranged the protective foam, closed the door and bolted the lead-lined metal cabinet.

He looked around. The silence was unsettling. Foreboding.

He glanced at his monitoring equipment. The magnetic field had crept past 37 degrees of north... He double-checked his monitoring equipment against a military hand-held compass and moistened his lips. The monitoring equipment was still accurate.

Crazy fools. How dare they call themselves scientists! Why couldn't they call off their experiment in case disaster really was imminent?

38 degrees of north. An almost imperceptible rumble in the belly of the earth registered on his equipment. The countdown had begun.

39 degrees of north. The earth grumbled her protest. Something pelted on the roof of the double walled sea container. The young man tried to dismiss his dry-lipped fear as wisps of acrid smoke permeated the container... The sea container was anchor-bolted to bedrock well away from flammable vegetation. In theory he wouldn't be burned alive even in the event of a scrub fire and the container would remain fixed to the ground. In theory...

40 degrees of north. The earth heaved violently and buckled beneath him, before resettling... It was like the container was out at sea, not anchored to a rocky outcrop in the middle of the remote Kimberley.

41 degrees of north. An agonizing two hours had passed since he had last spoken with Kojak. The roof of the container was being bombarded now. It sounded like a constant shower of rocks, except the young scientist knew they were meteorite fragments... Right now houses, schools and shops would be being pelted worldwide. Catching alight as hot metals struck flammable material. Surely Rick Dawk and his team would stop now!

42 degrees... Clearly they hadn't stopped their electromagnetic oscillating experiment. They were going to go all the way, irrespective of how many lives were lost... Purple-white lightning sizzled around him, blanketing out the video footage of what was happening outside of the container... Ear-piercing thunder shook the walls of the container... Hail pelted on the roof, as though it was fighting to get in.

Look on the bright side.... At least the ice would help extinguish any brush fires...

43 degrees... The sea container jolted violently from side to side. Except for a few loose objects, everything remained in place because it was bracketed or strapped in place by tie downs. So far, weeks of meticulous planning seemed to be paying off...

44 degrees... It was weirdly still. Like the eye of a storm in the middle of a cyclone... Almost three hours had passed since he had spoken with Kojak and so far he'd survived. He could almost hear Rick Dawk gleefully telling swarms of reporters that his team had proved that the minority of scientists who believed Sarfati and Humphreys were wrong. Maybe Sarfati and Humphreys were wrong... He wanted them to be wrong... Yet he'd been over the calculations several times and tried unsuccessfully to flaw the minority group's reasoning...

45 degrees of north... The container lurched forward at a 90 degree angle, then toppled over. Everything hung momentarily in the air - like it was floating without gravity, then gravity violently drew everything down again. A shrieking sound like a human scream reverberated around the container. He looked around apprehensively, then shielded himself as instruments exploded around him. A plasma ball formed in the container and drifted lazily around... The young scientist's eyes followed it... captivated by the unexpected... His fascination gave way to terror as over in the corner of the container, his unfinished transporter module took on a life of its own...

A bioluminescent violet light filled the module... violet-indigo rippled and liquefied into blue... then shimmering aquamarine flowed out... followed by a undulating yellow, which fused into orange and crimson... then... in the middle of the pulsating kaleidoscope appeared a youth.

He was at least a foot shorter than the well-built scientist... Under normal circumstances the scientist would not have felt threatened. But these were far from normal circumstances... He'd expected the earth tremors, the meteorites and the wild weather. But the last thing he'd expected to see was a gaunt teenager appear in a locked sea container in the middle of nowhere. The scientist fought to keep his composure as the youth grinned at him, pulled something over his eyes, then disappeared in a burst of blinding white light.

Dim light replaced the intense prismatic colours. The scientist drew a calming breath and tried to rationalize away what he'd just witnessed. He wanted to believe it had been a trick of the eye, but the broken instruments told him it hadn't been. He gingerly opened the sea container door and surveyed the charred devastation. Something whistled past overhead. For a moment he thought it was a bullet, then realized it was a meteorite fragment. He took his military compass out of its lead-lined protective pocket and held it with shaking hands. It confirmed his worst fears. Rick Dawk's team had moved magnetic north to 45 degrees, then the earth had flipped 135 degrees on its axis. North was now south and south now north. Life on planet earth would never be the same again...

I can never consent to creep, when I feel the impulse to soar.

-Helen Keller

December 20, 2057 18:00 hours

"GAME OVER - I WIN!!!!

The words flashed across the screen of the disc I was holding. I smiled faintly.

When not in use, the disc slotted into a waterproof, shatterproof pendant which I wore around my neck. The disc itself looked like an oversized coin, but it was actually a powerful personal computer - nicknamed Kojak - which responded to both touch and voice prompts. Mum said Kojak's voice sounded similar to Grandpa's. Which was cool because I had never met Grandpa. So knowing what he sounded like kinda connected me to him.

Kojak was... well it's a little hard to describe him. He was our family mentor... our helper... He monitored our family's fitness and health and acted as our bodyguard... He even acted like a pet if prompted. Except he never needed feeding.

I switched Kojak from GAME MODE back to GENERAL PARTICIPATION MODE and went to put the disc back. GENERAL PARTICIPATION MODE was - well what the name implied. It was the mode Kojak stayed in during conversations between family members.

"Nando. I am monitoring your vital signs and your heart rate is up. Can I assist you?"

"Um... no. I was just thinking about doing something..."

I glanced down at Kojak and stared at his touch-switch until it blurred.

CHAT MODE was Kojak's other communications setting choice. CHAT MODE was one-on-one with Kojak. It was the mode we could use if we felt we couldn't share secrets with each other... The mode that would whisper wise suggestions when we needed personal advice.

I had never really used CHAT MODE. At least I had never really used it until recently. In the last week I'd switched over to CHAT MODE half a dozen times when no one else was around. But I'd said very little once I'm made the switch. I'd kinda just sat there...

Kojak had tolerated my awkward silence without comment. But I'd noticed an extraordinary amount of processing activity going on behind the scenes... I'd vaguely wondered what he was up to.

I drew a deep breath and selected CHAT MODE.

"Good evening Ferdinand," greeted Kojak brightly.

"You know I hate being called that!"

"Hello then Nando."

"I don't like that anymore either. It sounds too babyish. How I ever landed a name like Ferdinand beats me."

"The name is in your family lineage. On your mother's side. Perhaps that's why your parents chose the name for you at your birth."

"You mean some of my descendents had to endure the same crazy name?"

"The name actually means 'Bold Voyager'. And I know that at least one other Ferdinand Magellan lived up to his name. He was a Portuguese explorer who lived about six centuries ago."

"I've heard of him but I forget the details... What did the dude do again?"

"He led the first known expedition across the Pacific Ocean."

"Rad."

"His expedition was also the first to circumnavigate the earth, although he didn't finish the voyage."

"Why not?"

"He was killed in a battle in the country once known as the Philippines."

"Not so rad... Talking of names, I don't think I've ever asked you about yours before. Is your name an acronym for something?"

"Your father says it stands for Keep our joy and kisses because I'm the family intermediary."

"Yeah right!" I chuckled.

Kojak made a sound that resembled indigestion.

"Did you just laugh?"

"I was designed to imitate mirth in response to a shared joke."

"You've never told me that before. Who designed you anyway?"

"That's classified."

"Classified? You've never told me anything was classified before either."

"You've never asked me anything classified before."

"Okay... I'll give your classified designer a nickname then... How about... David?"

Kojak paused.

"Is there a reason that you've chosen the name David?"

"Mum says your voice sounds like Grandpa's. And his name was David."

"Your suggested nickname has caused an internal conflict in my chat programme. I need to consult a remote source before I can approve it."

"Take your time," I said, with a hint of curiosity.

Ω

Consult a remote source?

Kojak's chat mode was very different to his General Participation mode. Particularly his comebacks and one-liners. Where could the remote source possibly be when he was ours?!

Originally Kojak had been imbedded in a gameboy which mum's parents had given her. As nanotechnology had advanced, Kojak had made improvements to himself, and mum had started wearing him as showy earrings. When mum had married, he had presented a copy of himself to dad as a wedding present - in the form of a wristwatch. My sister Gem wore him on her wrist too - as a bangle with a series of charms which activated his various applications. And I wore him as a pendant around my neck.

Lately though, whenever I went out, I had taken to wearing the pendant hidden under my clothes. Not that wearing a pendant looked out of place - lots of kids wore pendant personal locator beacons so their parents could track their whereabouts and the amount of background radiation they had been exposed to. And I knew Kojak was infinitely more sophisticated than a PLB. But it was embarrassing to be seen wearing something that looked like a PLB when you were thirteen. I had hinted it would be cool if I could start carrying Kojak as a pocket knife... But dad and mum had negated the idea, saying it would cause too much trouble when I passed through the Watchers weapons search scanners.

Kojak made a sound which resembled someone clearing their throat to break through my reverie.

"Your nickname for my designer is accepted. I am permitted to add that my designer was actually given the name David at birth."

"Sick!"

"My new database for chat mode requires clarification. Do you mean sick as in throw up your guts or sick as in feeling delighted?"

"Sick as in delighted... you know... rad... wicked... cool! Actually, I've never heard you say your database requires clarification either."

"That's because you've only just started sharing your private thoughts and feelings with me."

Right this minute my private thoughts and feelings were running wild.

"Your designer David must have been a genius to have given you such a personality in chat mode," I managed to say.

"Yes. His IQ was comparable with other geniuses."

I looked at Kojak intently... Not that there was anything of him to see except a blinking cursor.

"What did David look like anyway?" I ventured.

"I have access to 2135 photos of him... Would you like to narrow down the field to a preferred age?"

"A preferred age? Let's see... I've always secretly wanted an older brother. But not too old. Have you got a photo of David when he was... let's see... about twenty?"

"Yes. I have fifty-one photos of him when he was twenty. This is the highest quality photo."

I glanced down at the screen. A photo of a well built young man with wild black curls and a square jaw-line smiled back at me.

"What'ya know? His nose is the spitting image of mine. Poor bloke!"

"The DNA signature of your nose is different to David's, but I agree the bone structure is quite similar. Would you like me to run a full facial analysis comparing your features with his?"

I couldn't help laughing.

"Nah... I just wanted to personalize you in chat mode. You know \- replace that blinking cursor that's supposed to be you with something more human-looking... There ya go big brother Kojak - now you've got a face!"

Kojak blinked away rapidly as if his processor was mega-overloaded. I studied the photo again.

"So what was your designer David like anyway?"

"Clarify what time-frame you are talking about."

"Huh?"

"Was is past tense and the field is too broad for me to accurately answer your question. Would you specify which dates are of interest to you?"

"What range of dates do you have?"

"All dates from his birth up to the present, excluding most of December 23, 2022..."

Life is either a great adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller

December 23, 2022. The End Of The World As We Knew It. Or TEOTWAWKI for short. Curiously some of the ancients had thought that a date ten years previously - the end of the 13th Mayan b'ak'tun - would be the end of the world. December 23, 2012 had come and gone without a hiccup. But exactly ten years later the world had ended. Well... It wasn't quite the end of the world, but it was the end of almost every computer record on the planet... And in the new accounts of recent history it was now called the Event. Because TEOTWAWKI was a bit of a mouthful.

"All right - what was David like \- the day this photo was taken?" I ventured.

"His adrenaline levels were elevated."

I was surprised by Kojak's answer.

"Why?"

"It was 06:00 hours on December 23, 2022 and he was very concerned for our safety."

"Is that right? Well you can't tell it from his smile. Who took the photo anyway?"

"I took it at his request."

"On December 23, 2022? Hang on... Rewind... If you took this photo of David before the Event - that means you survived the Event, Kojak!"

"Yes. Although technically it was a different version of me - David's prototype version - that survived the Event. I am a third generation version of my archetype. With different memories."

"But you can access the memories of that early version of you that survived the Event, right?" I said excitedly.

"Yes. Every memory is stored on David's central mainframe and is retrievable."

"David's mainframe? But that means you're still David's Kojak as well as our family's Kojak?!"

"Yes."

"So David's version of you knows who I am?"

"Of course. We file-share everything. And develop solutions together if you ask me something unexpected..."

"... or something internally conflicting..." I murmured.

"Correct."

"Rad!" I cried exuberantly.

I had always assumed Kojak was AE. After-the-Event like every other computer in my life. The fact that part of him at least was BE \- or Before-the-Event was wildly exhilarating.

Kojak sensed my excitement and mimicked it. I rested my chin in my palms.

"So did you eye-witness the Event, Kojak?"

"No, I was shut down by David after I took the photo of him for my own safety. Although I started recorded David's eyewitness experiences, as soon as he had my processor up and running again on December 24, 2022. And processed the video footage he took."

"Can you still access data from before December 23, 2022?"

"It was archived years ago but I could retrieve it from David's mainframe."

"So you might have footage of life before the Event in the mainframe archives?" I continued.

"Well there are at least 1200 archived files with .mpg, .mov, .avi and .wmv extensions, so some of them probably have BE footage. Particularly the ones that utilized Windows."

"What was Windows?"

"A BE computer operating system. David began using it in AD 2010."

"Can you tell me all about it?"

"I can teach you to use it if you like. Then you can unpack and view the footage in all the accessible folders to your heart's content."

"All the accessible folders? Why are some of the archived folders inaccessible?" I asked curiously.

"They contain recordings made by David's archetype and he's made them inaccessible. Presumably so they can't accidentally be deleted."

"Wow! They sound important... Can you see what's in them for me?"

"One moment... Hmmm...They're password protected... In an unusual fashion however... They require a date, time and hour to tick over before they can be unlocked."

"Like a time capsule... Cool! Let me know when they're accessible, won't you Kojak? I'm curious about their contents."

"I'm curious about their contents myself," replied Kojak. "I should be able to access every file created by any of my predecessors! I'll have to ask David to fix that programming glitch next time he's in Administrator mode. Judging from the file properties summary however, the time-locked files are only low resolution memoir recordings. Similar to the recordings I've made of you on special occasions... You know... family holidays... birthdays and so on."

"Wow! I can't wait to see what footage is in the time capsule files when your designer gets them unlocked. What about BE .jpeg files? Have you got any archives of documents that were downloaded off the internet before December 23, 2022? So I can see what the internet was like?"

"I have snapshots of some internet pages. Mostly of topics which David was interested in. I'll dig them up for you and put them in a folder labelled BE miscellany. And make sure it's accessible to you!"

"Thanks Kojak... I still don't get one thing though. Virtually every electronic device fried and anything that had electronics in it stopped working during the E/M spikes. How come Grandpa Kojak survived?"

"Grand-pa Ko-jak?" echoed Kojak slowly.

"Yeah... Remember you said you're the third generation improvement on David's prototype. So that means his original prototype was your Grandpa."

Kojak paused for a long moment... Again his processor seemed mega-overloaded.

"The name you have chosen for my archetype is accepted... To answer your question, Grandpa Kojak and David worked out what measures they would need to take to ensure their survival during the Event, and David implemented the advice."

"How did they know the Event was going to happen?"

"Well... Before the Event, the earth's magnetic field pointed 11.5 degrees off true north - which also happened to be the perfect angle to shield earth from dangerous charged particles from the sun. Scientists also knew that the earth's magnetic field was decaying about 5% per century."

"5% per century? That means it was getting weaker and weaker."

"Yes. Two scientists named Sarfati and Humphreys believed the rapidly decaying magnetic field was evidence that the earth was young and they predicted that the earth's poles would reverse in the near future. Pockets of discerning people started taking this minority view seriously and prepare for a future reversal of the poles. Which infuriated the mainstream scientists."

"Why?"

"They stood to lose research funding if the minority view gained momentum. Anyway in 2022, a team of scientists set out to discredit the increasingly resolute minority view once and for all. This team, led by Rick Dawk, intentionally used E/M weapons to generate a large scale Tesla effect and move the earth's magnetic field over to 45 degrees of north - to 'prove' the minority view was wrong."

"And no one tried to stop them?!" I gasped.

"David's father tried. His name was Harrison Garmin. He was a well known eco-warrior who had a reputation for siding with scientists who were ostracized for speaking out the truth. Unfortunately most people wanted to believe Rick Dawk - not the minority scientists or environmentalists like Harrison."

"Why?"

"Well, Dawk told the media that moving the magnetic field to 45 degrees would make E/M weather modification possible on a global scale - which would solve climate change and make cyclones, drought and blizzards a thing of the past. As you know however, Dawk was wrong. The E/M experiments generated large scale magnetic resonance in the earth's core..."

"... which triggered a wave of natural disasters that changed the face of the earth."

"Sadly. Fortunately David's preparations were thorough. Shutting me down, encasing me in lead and riding out the Event together in a sea container prevented my demise. And his..."

Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.

-Thomas A. Edison

Demise.

Kojak's language in chat mode was quaint. Demise was an archaic word which was not on The Watchers communications vocabulary list. But the word demise aptly described what had happened after the E/M spikes had inverted the earth around on its axis like it was a toy.

Every unprotected electronic device was wiped out worldwide when the magnetic poles reversed. Bank records, title deeds, birth certificates, death certificates, social security records, tax records and academic achievements disappeared... Huge chunks of knowledge about the last three thousand years - vaporized... Information about the inventions of previous civilizations - their everyday skills and their technical knowledge... information that would have assisted AE survivors - gone. Four billion people had died that first week... Over the next few months another two billion people had died - mostly from inclement weather, particle-bombardment sickness and acts of anarchy associated with hunger and starvation. Most of the remaining survivors lived in isolated areas - in countries like Australia and Alaska. They spent their days preserving the knowledge base and attempting to improve their AE lifestyles. There was no overarching government, police force or military. But a remnant of Australian scientists had forged out ahead and formed The Watchers. Their primary role was to ensure that no one would ever abuse E/M technology again.

"You are reflective again," observed Kojak. "Is this trait becoming part of your personality?"

"I'm not sure," I replied absently.

Every time I thought about it, I felt angry... Why had BE academics kept so few non-electronic records at the start of the 21st Century? Or at least listened to the minority view scientists and encased their digital records in lead.

So much information about the past had been lost...

The part of my mind that wasn't brooding finally realized the implications of Kojak's earlier answer.

"Back up Kojak... You said before that David's still alive... I'd like to meet him one day. Do you think you could arrange it?"

"Why would you like to meet him?"

"Well David designed you into that game-boy that Grandpa gave to mum. So maybe he might remember what Grandpa was like."

"That is logical."

"And I've always wanted to know what Grandpa was like..." I continued.

Silence.

"Hey Kojak. I've just realized. Part of you has always been part of our family. Do you remember what Grandpa was like?"

"Was is past tense and the field is too broad for me to answer your question. Would you specify which dates are of interest to you?"

Déjà vu.

"What range of dates do you have?" I asked breathlessly.

"All dates from his birth up to the present, excluding part of December 23, 2022."

Another bombshell. Kojak tactfully said nothing about my bounding pulse.

I struggled to continue the conversation.

"But Grandpa's dead, Kojak. Mum told me he died when she was a little girl."

"The information you were told is not correct."

"Okay. What is Grandpa like?"

"That information is classified private."

I decided to rephrase the question.

"Okay. What was Grandpa doing at... ten o'clock this morning?"

"He was tending to his garden."

I jumped visibly as Mum strolled in through the door of our living cell. Dad and Gem ambled in behind her.

"Do you have any further questions?" probed Kojak.

"Not right this minute," I whispered. "Please classify the conversation as private."

"Acknowledged," replied Kojak, as I quickly switched him back to General Participation mode.

Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance.

-Albert Einstein

Dad placed his plate under a series of tubes in the kitchen. Kitchen Assistant measured out his meal based on her calculation of his caloric needs. Mum and Gem did likewise. I dawdled towards Kitchen Assistant and reluctantly held out my plate. Three huge piles of identically textured nutrition were deposited on it.

I sighed and plonked myself down at the table with the others.

"It's not fair! Look how much KA has given Nando!" groused Gem hungrily.

Recently Kitchen Assistant had apparently detected growth hormones and low sugar levels in my bloodstream, and almost doubled my portion size.

"I agree it's not fair," I retorted. "No one should be forced to eat this much."

I clandestinely swapped plates with Gem. Gem beamed with delight. Mum raised her eyebrows as she watched Gem hoe into my meal.

Dad poured himself a glass of vitamin-enriched water.

"Fancy a family holiday this Christmas?" he said casually.

"Yaba-daba-doo!" replied Gem enthusiastically.

Gem was into re-runs of 20th Century cartoons.

"Why?" I asked, looking at Dad.

"Your mother and I have an assignment."

"Cool!"

"Actually it'll be pretty hot..." countered Mum.

"Why?"

"It's in Zone 5."

"Zone 5?!" Gem and I echoed in unison.

We'd been as far as Zone 2 as a family, but none of us had ever been to Zone 5. Not even Dad. Zone 5 had been off-limits to Watchers for years, because before I was born, two Watchers had gone to Zone 5 and never returned.

"You can both stay at the Watcher's lodgings if you'd prefer not to come with us," continued Dad.

"No. We'll come!" we said together.

Dad and Mum both raised their eyebrows. Gem and I rarely agreed on anything.

Sombre silence.

"Why Christmas in Zone 5?" I asked to break it.

Dad put aside his plate and activated the touchscreen keyboard which was built into our dining-room table. His fingers flew over the keyboard. A moment later a satellite map of Zone 5 appeared on our 2050 cm monitor. Dad zoomed in and indicated a fuzzy green patch with his laser pointer. I looked at it and shrugged.

"So? Some eccentric survivalist has planted a few shrubs in the outback."

"I agree attempting to grow anything in Zone 5 suggests eccentricity... but this is what's caught the attention of the Watchers."

Dad's fingers flew over the keyboard again. A series of ever-narrowing red lines superimposed themselves around the green patch.

"It could be a natural hot spot, where the earth's magnetic field is concentrating... Like a new pole," I shrugged. "It's a bit hard to tell from the snap..."

"Agreed... There's scant satellite coverage of the area, so we don't have any high resolution photos. But I've determined that the total electron content of the ionosphere over this area is higher than it was when I last checked it 14 years ago..."

"So? Some eccentric survivalist has been experimenting with E/M weather modification so he can revegetate Zone 5."

Mum frowned slightly. Dad beamed at me.

"Has someone been tuning into his ancient physics lessons for a change?"

"Selectively."

"He's been reading about weather modification... From a book!" piped up Gem.

She said the word book melodramatically. Like reading a book was a criminal offence.

"You said you wouldn't tell!" I complained.

"What book?" said Mum sharply.

"Your pulse is elevated Mani... Are you distressed?" asked Kojak.

"Disregard Kojak," snapped Mum.

"Acknowledged."

I glanced down at my pendant and smiled at Kojak. He purred back... which was his way of smiling in General Communications Mode... I couldn't wait until tea was over so I could turn him back to Chat Mode and ask him all about life before the Event... and Grandpa... and his designer David...

Mum's voice pierced shrilly through my musing.

"What book Nando?!" she repeated.

"I found it in the sea container. In this old trunk."

"What were you doing in there?" cross examined Mum.

"Your pulse is rapid. You are definitely distressed Amani," interjected Kojak.

"Disregard!" repeated Mum.

Kojak said nothing. He was programmed to model wisdom and diffuse tense situations.

"You told me to go in there, remember? You loaded me up with an armful of clothes that were too small for Gem and told me to put them somewhere in the container. I looked around for somewhere and found the trunk. It was full of books, so I took some of them out to make room for the clothes. And started reading one of the books because it was interesting. Ask Kojak!"

"His recollection of events is correct," piped up Kojak.

Mum rolled her eyes. Dad chuckled.

"So when do we do the family holiday thing in the middle of nowhere?" asked Gem.

"First light tomorrow. Go and pack. Kojak - make sure they pack their radiation suits and enough smart clothes for a week's stay in Zone 5."

"Yes Mani."

"And appropriate footwear for unexpected deviations in the weather," added Dad. "In case someone really has re-discovered how to modify the weather..."

"Acknowledged Leo," replied Kojak softly.

Chapter 2

Let us not look back in anger, or forward in fear, but around in awareness.

-James Thurber

December 21, 2057 12:00 hours

"Are we there yet?" grouched Gem, after we'd been flying in the gyro-plane for four hours.

"We're in Zone 3."

"Zone 3 is such a boring name. The Watchers should rename it," I ventured.

"Rename it what?" asked Mum.

"The tranquil zone," I suggested.

Another two hours later we hovered over what had once unmistakably been a sizeable town. I stared down on the crumbling remains beneath us. A derelict grey building with large white letters that said UNIV caught my eye. I wondered what it had once been used for.

"Zone 4," said Mum wistfully. "Thousands of people lived here before the Event but the region was the epicentre of a 9.6 Richter earthquake on December 23."

"Want to rename this zone as well?" asked Dad.

"The fracture zone," I whispered emotionally.

I clenched my fists. Boiling inside at the stupidity of the scientists that had done this to unsuspecting people.

"Need to use me as a sounding board?" asked Kojak, from out of my pendant.

Mum and Dad's eyes snapped in our direction. Kojak had asked the question in General Communication Mode from my pendant. It was like he had crossed over an unseen boundary and was treating me like an adult now as well. My cheeks burned, but something inside me had changed.

"I'm appalled more than anything Kojak," I replied truthfully. "It's just that the further we get from Zone 1, the worse things seem to be getting."

"I understand."

Mum and Dad exchanged stunned-mullet looks. Big brother Kojak was doing their heads in.

"What was this town called BE, Kojak?" I asked flatly.

"Karratha. The region was known as the Pilbara."

"Is Zone 5 going to be even worse than this?"

"Zone 5 was remote before the Event, so the Event had minimal visual impact on the region."

"You mean Zone 5's a lot like it used to be, BE?"

"Affirmative," replied Kojak, from Dad's watch.

I picked up the subtle hint from Kojak. No asking about Zone 5 BE in front of Dad and Mum. Which meant Kojak knew something about it that they didn't...

Ω

The knot in my stomach turned into dry mouthed tension. Another three hours had passed and we had finally reached the area of interest in Zone 5. A dry river bed snaked through the landscape underneath us. In front of us the ground rose up and a grey dividing ribbon appeared. I stared at the old bitumen road with interest. Dad and Kojak set the gyroplane down on it and we taxied to a stop then parked in a cleared area off the road. I stretched noisily, stepped out of the gyro-plane... and gasped! Searing dry air scorched my nostrils and lungs. My smart clothes immediately compensated for the increase in temperature. Simultaneously my radiation suit self adjusted to fully reflect the sun. I felt immediately comfortable. Except for my feet... I could already feel the heat through my kevlar-fibre sneakers. Zone 1 footwear was obviously not suitable in Zone 5. I rummaged around for my GPS smart-hikers.

"Kojak says the background radiation levels are low," I ventured, as I removed my sneakers. "Can we take our radiation suits off as well?"

"Perhaps in a couple of days," replied Mum. "Let's make sure that the low levels apply to multiple areas in Zone 5, not just an isolated pocket."

I scanned the uniform red rock and dusty vegetation with keen eyes as I laced up my hiking boots... There was no evidence of anyone's efforts to revegetate Zone 5 as far as the eye could see in any direction. About the only thing of interest was the bitumen road. It had somehow survived the earthquake which had flattened Zone 4 and was still useable 60 years later.

Dad stooped down and touched the bitumen with his palm the hurriedly retracted it.

"The people who once lived here used to claim you could fry an egg on the road in summer in this part of Australia."

"Forget about frying an egg on the road. This kind of heat would fry an egg inside the chicken!" I joked.

"This is going to be the worst family holiday ever!" complained Gem, making no attempt to hide her antipathy.

"Well this looks as good a place as any to set up our worst-family-holiday-ever base camp," I smiled.

I reached into the gyro-plane and started unloading our luggage.

"Well at least one of the kids is enthusiastic about our Christmas camping trip," said Dad, as he set up the solar stove for Mum.

Ω

A mere 500 metres away from us, a deeply tanned man stared down at us... sizing us up from behind the protection of a hologram veil, which disguised the existence of the luscious garden he was standing in. Years spent in the remote Kimberley had taught him how to see much more than just the red dust we all were seeing... Instead he saw a palette of oranges, ochres, crimsons, and burnished golds... He'd learnt to detect the subtle colour differences which indicated what crops would do best in a particular patch of soil... And long ago he had tapped into an abundant supply of underground water which enabled him to recreate a 21st Century Garden of Eden, with the help of his friends.

Unbeknown to me, I was directly facing the man. And while my eyes could only see the arid vista of the projected hologram, my sixth sense screamed someone was watching us.

"There's something about this place... it's not empty like it looks," I said softly.

"We'll see if your hunch is right in the morning," replied Dad. "For now, help me erect the temporary accommodation module."

The module was self inflating and only took a few moments to put up. I loaded our belongings into the module, then Gem and I use the comfy air beds as a bouncy castle while mum and KA prepared the dehydrated rations. I gobbled the camping food with relish - it tasted really different to regular food.

After dinner I helped Dad set up a laser force bubble around the camping module. Dad and Mum were both concerned that wild animals might attack us in the module, although I'd secretly asked Kojak and he'd told me the only species likely to attack us were sugar ants.

I glanced through the flyscreened window off in the direction I'd been looking earlier and felt a stirring of longing as moonlight replaced sunlight. If there was a survivalist out there who was trying to revegetate Zone 5, I wanted to find him and learn all I could off him.

Even if the Watchers maintained that interacting with survivalists was taboo...

The best scientist is open to experience and begins with romance - anything is possible.

-Ray Bradbury

"Good evening mate. What's up your nose?"

"You're taking a risk Kojak. Allowing Watchers to camp virtually on our doorstep. Discovering our little community could lead to your deactivation as well as my demise."

"Unlikely. Based on your programming, the calculated risk of them accidentally discovering the perimeter hologram is less than a 1:500 chance."

"So if you've miscalculated the risk, it's due to my faulty programming, right?"

Kojak chuckled. An unmistakeably human-like chuckle.

"Have you been able to determine why they're here, Kojak?"

"They're here to investigate the infrared emissions they detected in this area recently."

"You allowed our emissions to be detected?"

"Momentarily."

"Why?"

"That information is confidential."

"Spit it out! You're not programmed to withhold information from me Kojak."

"Alright. I didn't want them to get lost. And they would have got lost without a waypoint. Their team leader has a hopeless sense of direction."

"Just how do you know these Watchers anyway?"

"I'm not telling you that. Yet!"

"Spit it out!"

"That won't work twice, you old survivalist."

"Did I ever tell you, that you behave like an overgrown teenager?"

"Numerous times. But let's face it. That's the way you like me. Otherwise you'd programme me to be different."

"Well I can't argue with that logic."

A lengthy silence.

"What are you chewing over anyway?"

"Huh?"

"You're thinking that thought pattern again..."

"You're not programmed to analyse anyone's thought patterns."

"No, but I am programmed to detect and analyse brain waves, pulse rate, cardiac response, oxygen in the blood, hormonal levels and fifty two other bodily functions. And I've learned you physically respond similarly every time you think about whatever you're thinking. Can't you explain this thought pattern to me? I find the process of human thought so... fascinating."

A deep sigh.

"I can keep a secret!"

"It's a longing Kojak... for others to enjoy what we've recreated here... The pitter-patter of feet running through the garden... youthful laughter... optimism... Children to come up to a plant and say 'Wow!'"

"So it's a longing to be surrounded by younger people?"

"That's part of it... Seeing that young lad eagerly setting up their camp this afternoon triggered the feeling... He's probably never even seen a garden before. Let alone run around freely in one."

"Perhaps this longing you speak of is part of the human blue-print... God yakked with Adam as they strolled through their garden together. And you're made in His image..."

"That's deeply philosophical - coming from you."

Raised eyebrows.

"Actually Kojak... You're programmed to offer counsel but I've never programmed you to offer philosophical counsel."

"I'm programmed to process information you give me."

"Yes. But you made three philosophical statements in succession, while offering me counsel. Where did they come from?"

"My CPU of course."

"Stop dodging my question... What's your background CPU running at anyway?"

"17%."

"That's excessive. Show me what you're up to behind my back."

"Have I been sprung?"

"Well and truly! Come on. I can keep a secret... What have you been processing lately that's out of the norm?"

"I've been trying to gain access to a folder made by my predecessor back in 2022."

"Why the sudden interest in ancient history?"

"The folder's time-locked," retorted Kojak.

"Hmmm... Sounds intriguing. But trying to crack a sophisticated password would use 2% of your CPU at most. What else are you up to?"

Kojak chuckled.

"Well - remember how you dusted off your old BE research library and told me to categorize it? I'm also still processing one of the books from it, which is using 14% of my CPU..."

"But I gave you that task weeks ago! Are your processors all up to scratch?"

"Yes. Everything's a-okay mate."

"So why's it taken you so long to complete the task then?"

"Well, copying, processing and categorizing the content of your library was straightforward. Except for one book. Initially I processed it as the most-printed book in history. But then I tried to categorize the contents and cross reference it with my existing knowledge base. And that has required a phenomenal amount of reprocessing and corrections to my database. Not to mention I've had to create entire new categories for concepts like the transportation of the human spirit and body in place and outside of time. Actually - I know you've programmed me to handle curve balls but this particular categorizing task has been challenging!"

A reflective grin.

"Ah well. You and I both need a challenge once in a while, I suppose mate. To prevent us from both growing old, eh?"

Ω

Everyone else fell asleep almost immediately. I lay awake peering through the flyscreen at our moon-bathed surroundings. I redirected my attention to Kojak - wondering why his processor was working furiously.

"You're supposed to be hibernating," I whispered.

"You should be asleep as well," reprimanded Kojak, although I could tell he didn't mean it.

"Okay. We both should be asleep... But I'm too excited about tomorrow. There's something special about this place Kojak... I think I'm really going to enjoy staying here a little while."

"Would you enjoy staying here for a long while?" probed Kojak.

I frowned at the unusual question.

"I guess that would depend on who I was hanging out with."

"That's a good answer little brother."

I chuckled softly and fluffed up my pillow.

Little did I realize that Kojak's question wasn't random. Kojak had intentionally led us to this part of Zone 5. And we wouldn't be returning to our regular lives in Zone 1 again.

For a long while...

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind a faithful servant.

We have created a society than honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.

-Albert Einstein.

"So how do we work out if the E/M disturbance is natural or man-made?" I asked over breakfast.

"Well I thought we could start by scouting the area near the dry riverbed on our hover-scooters and looking for signs of human habitation. Like a shelter. Or footprints..."

"Can I hang out here near the accommodation module while you go off scouting?"

"Aren't you feeling well Nando?" probed Mum.

"Nah. I'm feeling fine. But I'd rather try out this old-fashioned metal detector I repaired the other day. I'll look for signs of human habitation while I'm at it though."

"You actually believe that ancient contraption will work?" laughed Gem.

"Well I won't know until I try."

"What would you do if you found gold anyway? It's not like it's useful..."

"I'd keep it if I found it. But I'm not interested in finding gold. I want to find old things from the 20th Century. Like nails and bottle-caps."

"Back in the 20th Century they called that trash!" laughed Dad.

"Well one man's trash is another man's treasure," I retorted.

"I'm not sure about leaving you alone," ventured Mum. "Two Watchers disappeared somewhere in this zone about fifteen years ago..."

"We've been told that in class countless times, but I've never asked you about it. Did you know the Watchers?"

"Yes. Very well," replied Dad solemnly.

"Well that won't happen to me. Besides I won't be alone. Kojak will be with me. And there's no one else around here as far as the eye can see..."

There's a saying among prospectors:

Go out looking for one thing and that's all you'll ever find. -Robert Flaherty

I watched everyone else head off on their hover-scooters. Skimming along just above the surface of the ground using the earth's strong magnetic field to levitate them above the rugged terrain. Hover-scooters were the main means of transportation used in Zone 1. Except they were only suitable for short distances. After 10 kilometres you had to stop for an hour and let them cool down. So no one ever ventured from one zone to another in them. Actually most people never ventured out of Zone 1 their whole lives...

One of the few advantages of having parents who were Watchers was that you got to see what was beyond Zone 1. The Watchers manufactured fuel oil in the laboratory from garbage, but it was a slow process and the derived fuel was only available to Watchers who had to travel beyond Zone 1 on assignments in gyro-planes.

I switched Kojak over to chat mode, picked up the metal detector and started aimlessly wandering away from our base camp. The detector blipped almost immediately. I stooped and picked up a small, dull yellow piece of rock.

"Is it gold?" I asked curiously.

"I think it's called beginner's luck!" retorted Kojak. "Perhaps you should keep detecting in a circle around the accommodation module."

"Nah. I want to explore off that way until I can't see our camp. Like Ferdinand Magellan I would have done. Let's pace out the area we're gonna explore Kojak," I suggested.

"You can pace it out. I'll measure it accurately in case you get lost Ferdinand Magellan II," replied Kojak.

I laughed and started counting my steps out aloud.

"Have you noticed something peculiar Kojak?" I ventured as we walked along.

"What have you observed?" asked Kojak.

"This land looks flat. But it feels like I'm walking uphill. At least that's what my leg muscles are telling me."

"That is an interesting observation," agreed Kojak.

I waited for him to calculate the gradient of the slope. He didn't.

"You know what else?" I persisted, when he said nothing. "See the little windswept marks on the sand? They're an uneven length. Just like the marks on ground that is slowly rising up. Don't you think that's odd too?"

"You are very observant," replied Kojak.

I walked on, aware that my breathing was heavier than usual. I waited for Kojak to comment on it. He didn't.

"What distance do you intend to pace out?" he said eventually after I'd reached 400 paces.

I paused to catch my breath and looked back at the accommodation module. It was shimmering because of the heat waves but still visible.

"500 paces."

"500?" repeated Kojak.

"Ah ha... 401...402... 403... 404... 405..."

Silence. I kept counting aloud.

"485... 486...487..."

"Don't you think we've gone far enough?" interrupted Kojak flatly.

"Nah... I've got this gut feeling I should go a bit further..."

"I've got a gut feeling we shouldn't."

I laughed warmly.

"How can you have a gut feeling Kojak? Where was I up to? That's right... 493... 494... Here... I'll prove to you your gut feeling's wrong... 496..."

I held my metal detector out in front of me and took huge paces to finish the remaining steps.

"498...499..."

A shrill beeping broke the desert silence. I leapt backward. Then gingerly reached forward again with the detector fully extended like I was sweeping for a bomb. There was clearly a perimeter cable running underground. I turned and followed it along until I found a sensor, then I stooped down to examine it.

"Is this what I think it is?!" I gasped.

"I'm not sure," replied Kojak.

"What do you mean you're not sure? Even I know this is a hologram generator. If I didn't know better I'd think you were being cagey with me."

Kojak said nothing.

"Someone has set up a shield around what they're doing..." I continued aloud. "So people passing by think what they are seeing is just ordinary saltbush... and spinifex... and red dust. Which means they must be doing something behind this hologram shield that's worth hiding! We've got to see what's on the other side Kojak!"

"I disagree," countered Kojak.

I cautiously stuck the detector through, then a hand, then my head.

"Check it out Kojak! It's magnificent... It's like an oasis in the desert..." I breathed, looking around wide-eyed.

Ω

The silver haired man pushed himself to his feet the sound of the alarm.

"A 1:500 chance of accidental discovery, eh?"

"Unfortunately you didn't take into account the "hunch" factor in your programming and I didn't allow for the power of stubborn insistence in my calculations."

"Hmmm...We'll have to remedy that... How many intruders do we have to out-manoeuvre?"

"One. A youth."

"What's his status?"

"He's looking around gob-smacked... And gingerly stroking your sunflowers."

"Is he armed?"

"Not unless you consider a metal detector to be a weapon."

A faint smile.

"Take me to meet him."

Ω

The adrenaline rush following my discovery left me jittery. I jumped as a brightly coloured bird screeched overhead.

"Kojak... Scan the surroundings... Is there anyone within one hundred metres?" I whispered.

"No. There's no one within one hundred metres," replied Kojak.

"Well I'll hide you under my shirt anyway. To keep you safe."

"Aren't I supposed to be keeping you safe?"

"Yes. But I don't want anyone to hurt you. Or steal you. You're my best friend."

"Oh."

"So if you detect anyone within one hundred metres of us, warn me and we'll hide."

"What if someone finds us?"

"Freeze the photo of David and make out you're an ordinary pendant... And if anyone asks about the photo, I'll just say you're my big brother."

"I'm not sure that will work," replied Kojak flatly.

"Let's not worry about that right now. We mightn't meet anyone anyway..."

Silence.

I began picking my way along a narrow path through towering plants and flowers I didn't know the names of.

"Does this path lead anywhere Kojak?"

"Yes."

"Where's it lead?"

"I can't tell you. I have an internal conflict."

"Huh? Can't you resolve it by contacting the remote source like you did last time?"

"No."

"Maybe you can ask your designer David to help you then," I suggested.

"Ferdinand... There's something I want to tell you..."

"Sure... What?"

"I want to tell you, but things have become... complicated... And we have... company. At 99 metres and closing."

"Company? Initiate shutdown while I hide us. Quickly!"

"But your mother wishes me to monitor you in watchdog mode. If I shut down I can't do that."

"Okay... Switch to camouflage mode... Background monitor me like Mum wants you to do, but act like you're just an ornamental pendant."

"Thankyou for the suggestion. I was having trouble processing three conflicting simultaneous requests."

"Three?"

"David has an agenda as well."

"Your designer's asking you to do something right now as well?"

"Yes."

"You'd better go with his agenda then. I can find us a hiding place without your help. I'll reactivate you later when it's safe."

"Thankyou for helping me resolve the conflict situation."

Silence.

I frantically looked around for somewhere to hide. Aware that the ground underfoot was no longer sloping.

"Oh Kojak, this was a lousy idea. I miss your guidance," I whispered softly.

"Are you reactivating me?" asked Kojak.

"No. I was talking to myself."

"So you would like me to continue with David's agenda?"

"Yes. But don't speak from my pendant until I take you out of camouflage mode... Come on, let's hide behind these strange plants..."

I dived head first into the plants at the sound of approaching footsteps, flattening my hand against my chest to protect Kojak.

The footsteps grew louder and then stopped. I cautiously peeked around from behind the giant leafed plant and drew a startled breath.

"Well that's a peculiar way to tend to banana palms lad," said a deep voice.

Ω

"Kojak. I can't raise Nando. Is he alright?"

"Yes. He's fine Leo. Your vital signs indicate you are concerned."

"Why aren't you in General Communications mode?

"I had to override Nando's last directive. He has me in Camouflage mode, so my General Communications mode was temporarily inoperative."

"Why are you in Camouflage mode?"

"He grew tired of metal detecting, so he thought he'd conduct clandestine explorative operations instead. If it helps alleviate your concern, he's not in any danger and his vital signs are all within an acceptable range given his current activity. Although his exposed skin is somewhat grubbier than usual..."

Leo laughed jovially.

"Grubby skin is hardly a cause for concern. We brought the mister with us. Listen, we're at coordinates Alpha-Niner-vector-Six. What's your current position?"

"I calculate us to be 652.23 metres from base camp. Would you like us to start making our way back to the accommodation module?"

"No. There's plenty of daylight and you're not far from base camp. Just keep your General Communications mode running in the background irrespective of what Nando says, will you? I prefer redundancy when it comes to communications."

"Wilco," replied Kojak.

"Wilco?" echoed Leo.

"The use of military lingo when one is in Camouflage mode would seem appropriate, don't you agree?"

"Er... agreed... We'll see you both later then."

"And don't forget to keep Watchdog mode running as well!" added Mani.

"Bow wow."

Leo ended the communication with Kojak. Mani smoothed her wrinkled brow.

"Is it just me, or does Kojak seem more playful lately?"

"Well Nando seems more serious lately. Perhaps they're rubbing off on each other."

"Well neither of them can exactly get into any trouble around here," sighed Gem. "There's absolutely nothing to see or do..."

I've learned that the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to

surround myself with people smarter than I am. -Andy Rooney

I stared at the deeply tanned man and tried to hide my terror. He extended his hand and tugged me to my feet, then sensing my wariness, quickly released his grip and stepped back out of my personal space. I glanced towards the hologram, shimmering temptingly about 150 metres away and forced myself to stay put. He made eye contact with me.

"Do I know you from somewhere lad?" he said gently.

I shook my head.

He helped me dust off my clothes. He seemed intrigued by the fabric they were made from.

"Is this smart material?"

I nodded.

He ran his fingertips across his lips pensively... as though he was deep in thought.

Silence.

"I'm sorry I trespassed on your property," I said, finally finding my voice.

Smiling, warm blue eyes coaxed me to relax.

"What makes you think you trespassed?"

"That hologram is kinda an electronic equivalent to a 12 foot fence with razor wire, isn't it?"

An amused expression.

"I knew it was wrong to trespass. But I just had to get a closer look at your garden. It's so incredibly amazing!"

I slipped my hand under my suit and covertly switched Kojak onto recording mode.

"The plants I was in. What did you call them again?"

"Banana palms. Although technically bananas are perennial herbs not palms."

I enthusiastically examined the leaves of the next plant.

"These bananas are yellow also but they look quite different. Are they a different variety?"

"No. That's called corn. It's a vegetable, not a perennial herb. See the cob? It's almost ready to pick."

"What do you do with it after you pick it?"

"You eat it!" he laughed.

I looked around wide-eyed at the next plant.

"So is this small black corn almost ready to pick too?"

"Yes. But that's not corn. These are a fruit not a vegetable. They're called blackberries."

"I thought a blackberry was a type of old fashioned communications device," I frowned.

He grinned.

"They're ripe. Would you like to try some?"

I said nothing.

"Worried I might poison you eh? Here... I'll eat them first."

I watched him devour a mouthful of blackberries and carefully bit into one.

"It feels funny on my tongue. But it tastes sweeter than anything I've ever eaten before... We can't grow food where I live. The soil and the water are poisoned by mercury. From burst energy saving bulbs and other BE electronics. And the radiation bombardment levels are still too high to be outside for long anyway."

"I know."

"How do you know?"

"Because I lived in Zone 1 too. Many years ago."

"How do you know I come from Zone 1?"

"You arrived in a gyro-plane in a radiation hazard suit. And you're camping in a self inflating accommodation module. I'm surprised you haven't handed me a business card that says, "Gidday. I'm a Watcher from Zone 1!"

I moistened my lips.

"I am from Zone 1. But I'm only a Watcher by default, because my parents are Watchers."

"Well, we don't generally encourage drop-ins from Zone 1, but my wife would tell me off if I allowed you to leave without at least giving you a glass of her homemade lemonade first. Do you know she called me an old recluse the last time we were having a spat about visitors?"

I cocked my head.

"You look confused. Have I used words you don't understand?"

"No, it's not what you're saying. It's your voice. You sound just like my big brother... And he's been acting strange this morning. His name's Kojak."

Raised quizzical eyebrows.

"Kojak eh? Years ago there used to be a tele series by that name. It was about an old bald detective who sucked on a lollipop."

"Really? I wonder if my brother knows that... This is what he looks like," I added, holding out my pendant.

Thinly veiled astonishment. He ran contemplative fingers across his lips. Something that resembled a groan emitted from inside his jacket. I watched him casually put his hand into his jacket pocket.

"Talking of names, would you like to tell me yours?" he ventured.

"I'm Ferdinand."

"Ah. That explains why you were exploring my garden!"

I risked a cautious smile.

"Actually I know someone with Ferdinand as a middle name," he continued. "He used to shorten it to Andy when he was about your age."

"Andy's pretty cool. I might get Kojak to call me that when we're chatting."

Sparkling eyes. I smiled back.

"So are you gonna tell me your name?" I asked.

"Perhaps you should ask your brother," he replied, pulling his hand out of his pocket.

I fingered my pendant nervously, unsure of what to say in response to his suggestion.

"Andy... Meet David," said Kojak's voice from out of the Swiss army knife David was holding in his palm.

Ω

I cautiously took a sip of the lemonade David offered then downed the entire glass. David poured me another.

"Thanks. I didn't realize how thirsty I was."

"Metal detecting is hot work. Did you find any gold?"

"I found one nugget. But I wasn't looking for gold. I was looking for old BE things. Like bottle caps and bullets."

"And instead you found an old-timer!" joked David.

"It's so incredible that I've found you. I was just asking Kojak about you the other day."

"What did you want to know about me?" laughed David.

"You built Kojak for someone once. My Grandpa. I've never met him but I thought you might know something about him. Kojak says he's still alive and I want to find him."

David paused.

"Well... I've had quite a few clients over the years. But perhaps your version of Kojak and mine can get together and work out who your Grandpa is. Would you like to try some popped corn now that you've satisfied your thirst?"

I gingerly nibbled on one piece them filled my mouth until it was bulging.

"This tastes fantastic. It's the best tasting food I've ever eaten."

"I remember thinking the same about popcorn when I was young. How old are you anyway?"

"I turned thirteen last month. Except everyone thinks I'm younger because I'm so thin. I wish Kitchen Assistant's food was interesting like yours, then I might feel like eating it... Actually Kojak... You've absolutely got to learn everything you can about corn while we're here. When we get home I'm gonna establish a hydroponic garden with purified water and grow food like David does. And set up a self-repairing solar cell like his too..."

David eyed me with interest.

"I didn't realize they have self repairing solar cells in Zone 1."

"They don't. They're still using conventional solar cells. But I think they should swap to your design. What's the green leafy plant that it works on called?"

"Spinach. My friends and I harvested light-sensitive proteins from spinach leaves a while back. Then we put a layer of the protein material onto these sheets of glass and attached silver electrode wires..."

"...so when light shines on the surface, the spinach proteins generate an electrical current. Interesting."

"I'm interested that you identified a self repairing solar cell when you've never seen one before," said David with genuine admiration.

"I saw a sketch of one in an old notebook in our shed one time," I shrugged. "But there wasn't any other gardening information in it though. I looked."

"I recently processed a book on companion gardening which had information in the appendix about hydroponics," piped up Kojak from out of the pocketknife. "It was in amongst David's old research books."

"Would you mind if my Kojak accessed your Kojak's copy of the gardening book?" I asked eagerly, looking at David.

"Sure. Grant him access to my entire research library Kojak."

"All of your research library?" echoed Kojak.

"Why not? It's not every day that a thirteen year old drops in and asks me for information about gardening."

"Thanks David!" I beamed.

I reset my pendant into General Communications mode.

"Hey Kojak. I've just remembered. Where are Mum and Dad?"

"They are 3.6 kilometres away and heading back towards the accommodation module," said Kojak from my pendant.

"They are? Oh boy. We'd better hi-tail outta here in case they come looking for us!"

I made eye contact with David.

"I'll come back again and learn more about gardening off you. Tomorrow morning. Early. Before the rest of my family wake up. If Kojak says it's safe."

David chuckled.

"Goodbye for now then, young explorer."

"Bye!" I replied, tearing off towards the hologram perimeter fence.

Chapter 3

**In the Western tradition, we have focused on teaching as a skill and**

forgotten what Socrates knew: teaching is a gift, learning is a skill. -Peter Drucker

At first light I got up and headed back for David's garden. I ran straight up the path and burst into his house without knocking. David was drinking a strange black liquid from a metal pannikin.

"Good morning Andy. You said early, but I didn't expect you quite this early!" yawned David.

"I know. But Kojak said you were awake. I asked him first." I replied.

"Hmmm... I was only awake because the overgrown teenager pretended to be a rooster three inches from my ear!" groused David.

Kojak laughed roguishly.

"Sorry Kojak woke you up. I had to come extra early because I don't know if I'll be able to visit you very long. My parents are talking of continuing their search around 9 am. And they might make me go with them today. Actually I thought that'd be a good idea anyway. Because if they get too close to your perimeter hologram, Kojak and I can sneakily lead them away from it."

"I see. Would you like a coffee?"

I sniffed the black liquid he was holding.

"No thanks. It smells weird. I'll have another drink of your wife's lemonade though."

David grinned.

"Can we explore your garden while you drink your coffee and I drink my lemonade?"

"That sounds like an interesting start to the day. Where would you like to explore?"

"Everywhere. As long as we end up back near the end of the path near the bananas. There's this funny smelling plant with orange round balls on it. I want to know what it's called and whether it's propagated by cuttings, seeds or bulb division."

"Hmmm. It sounds like someone was reading that gardening book of mine yesterday when he got back..."

"I learnt so much!" I replied enthusiastically. "Before I leave Zone 5 I want you to show me how to graft plants... And how to strike cuttings. Actually I brought a book with me to show you in exchange. I've been secretly reading it... It's a BE science book. From Karratha University library. I thought you might be interested in it."

I handed David the book. He glanced at the cover and cleared his throat softly.

"Where did you get this book Andy?"

"It was in Grandpa's old trunk back at my house. It's all about different technologies available back in the 20th Century. There's an entry about E/M weather modification. And another entry about alternative fuels - it says that fuel could be derived from algae - can you believe that?! There's even an entry about a Tesla electric vehicle. Unfortunately it doesn't have any schematics."

David flicked slowly through the book and moistened his lips.

"Is something the matter? Your lips are twitching."

"No. I just recall getting a book by this title out of the library myself. Shortly before the Event."

"Oh... I'm sorry that the book triggered sad memories in you. Of people you knew who died in the Event. I didn't think about that. I shouldn't have showed you the book."

David took a thoughtful sip on his coffee.

"Billions of people died because of the Event Andy. But dwelling on that fact won't ever bring them back. The past can't be changed. But some of us can alter the present to create a better future for those who remain. Which is what I've spent my life doing and dreaming of doing."

"I want to spend my life doing the same thing. But I don't think I want to be a Watcher when I finish at the Institute. They say I'm bright because I'm several years ahead in my studies. But their studies are boring. I fully understand that the Watchers don't want people to pursue certain fields of science because they want to prevent another catastrophe like the Event. But teaching people what to think instead of how to think is stifling true progress. I mean - just imagine David. If people could grow their own fuel, or use electric vehicles to travel between zones. That would revolutionize life for the survivors in every zone! If only I could find out more details about alternative fuels."

"Hmmm... Well, a friend of mine is more of an authority on the topic than I am, but if I remember rightly the Australian military grew algae experimentally back in the 1980's and they discovered it thrived in Australian conditions. And before the Event, algae fuel was being used as jet fuel on commercial flights overseas... So potentially people in Zone 1 could grow their own fuel oil. It doesn't require good quality water."

My mind was whirling as I absorbed the new information.

"I'd get growled at big time if my mum knew I was asking a survivalist about alternative technologies, but do you know anything about EVs?" I asked breathlessly.

David's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Well... I know there were several concept EVs. A couple of car manufacturers even attempted to mass produce them. And many EVs had comparable torque to cars which used fossil fuel - except they were less polluting. I recall watching a video on the internet when I was about your age - it showed how a Tesla vehicle won a race against a Ferrari - which was a performance vehicle which ran on fossil fuel."

"Rad! Were Tesla EVs popular?"

"Many people liked them. But unfortunately only the wealthy could afford to own Tesla EVs. They were up to ten times more expensive than cars that ran on fossil fuels. And the government weren't overly keen for ordinary people to own them either."

"Why not?" I asked as we meandered around the garden.

"Well in Australia, the government generated wealth from fuel purchases. So they didn't actively encourage car manufacturers to produce affordable EVs - otherwise they stood to miss out on income from fuel tax revenue. Something similar happened in the United States too. Back in the late 20th Century, General Motors made two cars - one was an electric vehicle with zero polluting emissions; the other was a Hummer which guzzled fossil fuel and produced lots of polluting emissions. Anyway the people who bought the Hummers could claim $100,000 in tax deductions from their government - which virtually paid for their fossil fuel vehicles. But consumers could only claim $4,000 in tax deductions for their EVs."

"But why did a government favour a polluting technology over a less polluting one?"

"Well... that's a loaded question Andy," replied David.

He paused and picked some red heart-shaped berries off some low growing plants. He popped one into his mouth and handed one to me to try as well. They melted in my mouth, and I eagerly filled my mouth with more as I listed to David.

"The contest between polluting and environmentally friendly technologies started right back when motor vehicles were invented. In the early 1900's, before cars were mass produced, only about one third of all vehicles on the road ran on fossil fuels. Another third ran on steam. And the remaining third were electric vehicles. They were all much of a muchness in terms of power and range. Except the cars that ran on steam and the electric vehicles had zero emissions compared to those that ran on fossil fuels of course. Anyway - back in those days it was common for there to be fairs where inventors showed off their latest inventions. And at one of these fairs, a fella named Rudolf Diesel showed off a new type of engine he had invented that could also power vehicles."

"The diesel engine?"

"Ah ha. Rudolf Diesel originally designed his engine to run on a variety of fuels including sunflower oil and peanut oil. He publically described his engine as 'one which even the poor could afford to use' because the fuels it ran on could be grown by people on their farms. Biodiesel enthusiasts maintained it would have even run on algae oil. And it could also run on the oil extracted from these plants..." he added, plucking off a seedpod and splitting it open to reveal the seeds.

"What's the plant called?" I asked curiously.

"Canola... We use the oil from these seeds for cooking, lighting, salad dressing, as a lubricant and as a substitute for diesel... Unfortunately we only have a crude press to extract the oil so it's a frustrating process..."

David glanced over towards a shed-like structure wistfully. I waited for him to continue.

"Hmmm... Where was I? That's right... Telling you about Rudolf Diesel... His engine design was just starting to take off when he died under suspicious circumstances in 1913. After his death, the petroleum industry labelled one of the by-products of their gasoline distillation process 'diesel' fuel – purportedly in his honour. Cheap diesel fuel became the most common fuel for the 'diesel' engine and people gradually forgot they could run it on oils that they grew on their farms. And as time went by, the oil companies and car manufacturers 'improved' the diesel engine - so that it would only run on diesel \- not home-grown alternatives..."

Ω

"Nando! Breakfast is nearly ready!" called out Mani.

Silence.

"Where is that child?" she muttered softly to herself.

Leo glanced at Mani's wrinkled brow and raised his eyebrows. He could sense her fragile mood - they were both a little flat. They had both set out on this trip to Zone 5 with a secret agenda. One they hadn't told their children about... Both of them had hoped that they might find someone... anyone... who knew what had happened to their mothers fourteen years ago... It was always in the back of their minds... The not knowing for sure whether they were dead... The faintest hope that they weren't...

Leo glanced at his wristwatch.

"Where's Nando Kojak?" he asked.

"He is 539 metres west of here, but he's ambling back in this direction. Would you like me to hurry him along?"

"No. I feel like a little walk myself. I'll meet him halfway."

Leo looked around at the bewildering vista of dust and struggling vegetation.

"Which way's west Kojak?"

"See the rising sun. Head towards it."

"Er... Of course..." murmured Leo. "I should know that."

"It used to bamboozle your father-in-law too," replied Kojak. "Before the Event the sun rose in the east. After the Event the sun rose in the west. It took him months to get his bearings."

Leo moistened his lips and walked over to Mani.

"Kojak says Nando's gone for a walk that-a-way. I'll go find him for you love. We'll be back shortly," he added, pecking Mani on the cheek affectionately.

Ω

"So that implies the oil companies intentionally held back the development of alternative fuels!" I said breathlessly. "I wonder if my dad knows that..."

David eyed me perspicaciously.

"Hmmm... Perhaps we should end this conversation... Otherwise you might get a tongue lashing from your mother - for letting an old survivalist fill that bright young mind of yours with conspiracy theories!"

"Mum's the word!" I laughed defiantly.

His face crinkled into a grin.

"Talking of forbidden fruit, these are ready."

David plucked a green round fruit off a huge tree and bit into it. It made a crunching sound as he chewed away. I watched him for a moment then copied him. The juice ran down my chin.

"So do you think they held back the development of alternative fuels?" I persisted.

"Well... I don't know how intentional the oil companies' actions were, but let's just say some mighty curious things happened in the 20th Century. Rudolf Diesel died shortly after he refused to sell his invention to an oil company... Stan Meyer was working on a device which fractured water into hydrogen and oxygen so vehicles could use water as fuel and it's claimed he also met an untimely death after he refused an offer to buy his idea. Another inventor of an alternative technology was committed to a mental institution... another fell to his death off a train - the media reported he was drunk but his family and friends said he never touched alcohol... Backyard inventors were also heavily fined or imprisoned for 'manufacturing and using experimental fuel'. And there was a media uproar when farmers grew sugar cane for producing ethanol instead of food... Basically if the alternative technology was likely to significantly reduce the demand for fossil fuel, there was a disconcerting trend that the inventor of that technology was paid off, ridiculed, threatened, harassed or killed. Or his invention was bought out, 'shelved', canned or opposed..."

"It sounds like it was risky to invent anything that used alternative fuels before the Event," I said, shaking my head slowly.

"Yes and no. Alternative technologies that were partly dependent on petroleum industry - like hybrid vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells - received minimal opposition. But completely petroleum-free alternatives - like EVs and algae fuel - received limited assistance or had their funding cut once they showed promise... And they were subject to vehement opposition campaigns by the media. For instance cars that ran on wood-gas and steam were deemed 'environmentally unfriendly' because they used wood as fuel. And some activists said EVs were 'environmentally unfriendly' because they increased the demand for electricity which was generated by coal."

"But wasn't some electricity generated by wind and solar power BE?"

"Yes. And while coal was perceived as a polluting fuel - it was surprisingly clean because it was burned in a controlled environment with the right amount of air to support complete combustion and the emissions were monitored and filtered before they were released. I remember my dad telling me that it was healthier to breathe in the air near a power station than to sit in the middle of peak hour traffic breathing in the emissions from thousands of fossil-fuel vehicles... I think it would be fair to say, that if the technology hadn't been held back, those thousands of peak hour vehicles might have been EVs that were only emitting non-polluting water vapour..."

He stopped talking as he realized my lips were trembling.

"I seem to have upset you," he said gently.

"They sound just like the Watchers!" I blurted out. "The way they discourage and ban useful technologies!"

David hesitated.

"Well... The Watchers might not agree with your statement, but you're right - the scientific community's current stance of holding back progress is very much like history repeating itself, although for different reasons."

My heart leapt within excitement.

"You're the first person I've ever spoken to in my whole life that feels the same as I do!"

"You're the first young person I've met in a long while that feels the same as I do," replied David reflectively.

"So did you ever get to drive an E.V made by one of the car manufacturers? Back in the olden days?" I asked.

David grinned.

"No. They were all crushed before I was old enough to drive!"

"Crushed?" I echoed with disbelief.

"Ah ha. There were some very successful family-sized EVs built back in the 1980's and 1990's by General Motors. The people who leased them loved them - they could drive them all day and they just plugged them in at night to mains power - like charging a laptop or mobile phone's battery. Mechanics loved them too because they were easy to service and they didn't get dirty like they did working on fossil fuel cars. Then one day GM recalled all their perfectly working EVs and despite huge customer protest they crushed them! And it wasn't just GM who crushed their customers' EVs. Around the same time other car manufacturers crushed and shredded theirs too. I remember seeing a video on the internet about the fiasco. It was called Who killed the electric car?"

"That's crazy!" I said hotly. "Destroying something that worked well to prevent the idea from catching on!" I groused. "Did they do the same thing to algae fuel?"

"Well... I recall an algae oil project in the Nevada Desert was canned. There was a fuel crisis at the time - oil was very expensive and the researchers showed the government of the day that they could successfully meet America's need for fossil fuel by farming algae on land that was not suitable for agriculture. Or in other words America could grow their own algae fuel without buying any oil from overseas. You would have thought the government would have been excited at the solution to their fuel crisis. Instead funding was cut to the algae fuel research and the whole algae farming project was inexplicably shut down a few months later."

I frowned and rubbed my forehead.

"Have you finally got information overload young fella?" smiled David.

"Nah. I could learn off you all day. But I don't understand something... Fossil fuels are inaccessible these days, right?"

"Yes."

"So alternative technologies aren't in competition with them these days, right?"

"Ah ha."

"So why have the Watchers never considered EVs or algae fuel as solutions to Zone 1's transport issues?"

"Because they're forgotten technologies," replied Dad, as he stepped through the hologram, metres from where David and I were standing.

Ω

"Kojak!" we scolded in unison.

Dad fired a look of silent reprimand in my direction then glanced at David curiously.

"Leo went looking for Andy because it was breakfast time," explained Kojak from David's wristwatch. "And then he detected the aroma of brewed coffee in the air."

"Good coffee," supplemented Leo. "It triggered a fond memory of my father. For a moment I... I thought..."

Dad's voice trailed off. He cleared his throat softly.

"Leo! Where are you?"

Mum's voice was sharp with alarm from behind the hologram.

"Dad! We can't see you. Have you turned into a ghost?" added Gem.

"Power off Kojak. They sound distressed," said David.

The hologram flickered and vanished. Mum rushed up to us both and hugged Dad desperately. I had never seen her run so fast.

"Leo!! Thank God! I thought..."

Dad pressed her trembling body into his chest. Silently reassuring her. I could sense David watching them both intently.

Mum drew a steadying breath and spontaneously hugged me as well.

"Nando!! Are you alright?"

"Course I'm alright. There's nothing around here to hurt me mum. Ask Kojak."

"No I meant, I thought for a terrible moment that you and your father had met the same fate as..."

Mum left the sentence unfinished and blinked as though she had only just noticed the flourishing garden. She reached out and brushed the strange orange fruit I had wanted to ask David about with her fingertips. Tenderly. Reminiscently.

"You remember eating them don't you?" said David, unexpectedly addressing Mum.

Mum looked at David and went to answer him but then seemed to change her mind.

David plucked a leaf growing on the plant with the orange fruit and crushed it between his fingertips. He held his fingers out millimetres from Mum's nose.

"Remember the scent of the leaves as you plucked them from the vine?" he said gently.

Dad eyed them both curiously.

David wordlessly broke open one of the orange-skinned balls and handed half of it to Mum. To my astonishment she started eating it without hesitation.

Hear-a-pin-drop silence. I impatiently broke it.

"David was about to tell me all about the orange-skin fruit when Dad dropped in. What's it called Mum?" I asked.

"It's a tomato..." said Mum, handing me a piece. "You eat the flesh and spit out the seeds..."

"...to grow more tomatoes," finished David, wiping his watery eyes with his fingertips.

Ω

David had regained his composure, but for some reason Mum was crying now. Dad had his arm wrapped supportively around her, but I could tell he was mega-stressed too.

"Amani... Your name means peace," said David softly.

Gem and I exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"How do you know Mum's name, David?" I asked curiously.

"I chose it."

Mum bit her lip. Dad looked shell-shocked.

"Grandpa!" I beamed.

"Well I'm only used to David, but I suppose I could get used to Grandpa."

"Sick! I've wanted to meet you all my life!" I burst out, holding my hands out palms up. "This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!"

David grinned and hi-fived me like we were both teenagers.

"Does he feel like a ghost?" asked Gem cautiously.

"Of course he doesn't!" I chided.

"Have you ever felt a ghost before?"

"No."

"Then how do you know he's not a ghost?"

"Because the other day Kojak told me Grandpa was alive and that he'd been working in his garden. And he's obviously still alive now - he's breathing and walking. And eating tomatoes!"

"How come Kojak told you that Grandpa was alive?"

"I asked him. And before you say that's not fair, Kojak would have told you he was alive too if you'd asked him."

Mum and Dad exchanged stunned-mullet looks.

"Do you think ghosts like tomatoes Nando?" persisted Gem.

I eye-rolled.

"Gem if you keep this up, Grandpa's gonna wish he was a ghost!"

David stifled an amused chuckle. Dad hesitantly extended his hand.

"Hello David. You're looking pretty healthy for a 55 year old ghost."

David laughed warmly and draped an arm around Dad's back. Dad still looked kinda stressed out, but managed to smile faintly.

"How about a cup of your father's favourite blend?" suggested David. "You lead the way Andy."

If it's green or wriggles, it's biology. If it stinks, it's chemistry.

If it doesn't work, it's physics. -Handy Guide to Science

I paused near the open door of a sea container structure just before we reached the house.

"Is this your den Grandpa?"

"Ah ha."

"Can I look in it to see if you've got any interesting BE stuff?"

"Nando! That's invading his privacy!" chastised Mum.

"No it's not. I just want to learn all about my Grandpa. I've got a whole thirteen years of catching up to do!"

"I've got a bit of catching up to do myself," replied David wistfully. "And perhaps some patching up as well," he added, glancing at Mum.

He opened the workshop door wider and ushered us in. My eyes ran around the interior and stopped at the bookshelf.

"Books!" I said eagerly. "A whole wall of books! Can I stay with Grandpa for the rest of the week until we go back to Zone 1? And sleep in his den?"

"Absolutely not. You won't sleep a wink!" piped up Gem, imitating Mum's voice.

Mum and Dad laughed.

"Your brother enjoys the odd book eh?" said Grandpa smiling at Gem.

"You mean every book he can get his hands on. He cares more about books than hanging out with his friends at the Institute."

"Well if I could learn something new off my friends at the Institute I'd be interested in hanging out with them. But they just parrot what they're taught. Whereas books are like minds alive on the shelves. Every time I open a book I learn something."

David eyed me curiously.

"I remember enjoying the company of other people who felt that when I was younger."

"You do? Did you hear that Dad? You told me the other day that it's time I found myself a mentor. I've found one. Grandpa! He can mentor me the whole week while I absorb wisdom from him and his library."

"I'll think it over. Over a coffee," replied Dad, winking at Grandpa.

I looked at Grandpa's desk.

"These are unusual," I ventured, picking up a pair of antique-looking glasses.

"They're penguin eye sunglasses. That pair were a prototype actually - there are several improved pairs lying around."

"How are they different to ordinary sunnies?"

"Well... when I was about your age, I went on a research trip to Antarctica with my parents. I learnt that penguins have clear vision in spite of the intense glare of polar sunlight because they have an external eye fluid that filters blue and ultraviolet colours from the solar spectrum. Anyway a few years ago, I duplicated the optical advantages of the penguin eye in these glasses. We use the glasses around here in bright glare or haze. Or when we're welding..."

"They sound useful," I ventured, carefully putting the glasses back down on the desk.

My eyes were drawn to a metal cubical next to the desk.

"And what's this invention that you're working on Grandpa?"

"That old thing?" laughed David. "I stopped working on it years ago."

"Why?"

"It was part of my university research project... Before I got married to your grandmother."

"Before you had mum?"

"Yes."

"Before the Event."

"Yes."

"Wow! Can I check it out while you're all having coffee?"

"If you want to... It doesn't work though. I never got back to finishing it after the Event. Other things became a priority. Like survival."

I eagerly picked up a notebook in the cubicle and dusted it off.

"You've got some research notes in here with your project... Can I read them too?"

"Be my guest."

"Kojak... Do you know anything about this old invention of Grandpa's?"

"Yes. But the information I have is stored in David's chat mode."

"Share the information," shrugged David, as he linked his arm through Mum's.

"Very well. I'll copy the relevant files over from your chat mode to Andy's..."

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead

Leo savoured the coffee but it wasn't working quite as well on Mani.

"I thought you were dead all these years," she whispered for about the tenth time. "There was always a dad-sized hole in my heart..."

David gently grasped her hand in his.

"I realize now that I should have clandestinely contacted you Amani. I would like to make it up to you, if you'd let me."

Leo rubbed his wrinkled brow.

"So, let's see if I've got this right... We all lived in Zone 1 and you and my father were Watchers. But you both secretly came here regularly after the Event. And you both relocated here permanently when Mani was six and I was about nine."

"Yes. Zone 1 was still being constantly bombarded by meteorites and we all knew rebuilding couldn't start under those conditions... We had both been involved in geophysical research in this region before the Event and my research laboratory was relatively intact. So we reasoned that since the earth's magnetic field pointed 11.5 degrees off north-south before the Event, then the best strategy would be to attempt to get it to point 11.5 degrees off south-north. We knew that 11.5 degrees was the optimum angle to shield the earth from the dangerous charged particles from the sun. Moreover, this would enable navigation by compasses again and decrease the number of meteorite strikes in all the zones. So we set up Tesla fields and generated plasma balls in the unpopulated regions of the earth to painstakingly coax the earth's axis back to 11.5 degrees. It took us ten years and we had to make thousands of calculations, but to our knowledge no lives were lost while we slowly made the adjustments using the very technology that Dawk had originally misused to create the mess."

"And you both told no one what you'd done?"

"Only our wives. Of course, the other Watchers knew someone was responsible for the adjustments but they didn't know who or where they were located. Once the earth's axis was tilted back at 11.5 degrees we stopped the modifications. The Watchers response was to outlaw any further geophysical research or E/M experimentation now that the earth was stable again. They also placed everyone who had any background in geophysics under 24/7 scrutiny to make sure no one ever dabbled in E/M technology again."

"I never understood why your field of research was outlawed when the Watchers knew someone with your training had effectively saved everyone in Zone 1from possible annihilation," mused Leo.

"True scientists and leaders must be prepared to be misunderstood Leo. And the other Watchers were afraid that anyone with an understanding of E/M technology might misuse it again. Because originally the majority of scientists had supported Dawk, remember?"

"But now I realise that you and my father had supported the minority view..." finished Leo reflectively.

Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

-Oliver Wendell Holmes

I drank in the calculations and equations in front of me like all my Christmases had come at once.

"These notes in David's handwriting... Place-position transportation... I'm sure I've never heard of this theorem Kojak."

"It's not a published theorem. David and I were working on the calculations many years ago as part of his research thesis. But the Event interrupted our work and ensuring the survival of the remaining human race became a priority over the research."

"But I've never even come across this whole field of research before Kojak! What premises were the derived constants based on?"

"You would have to ask David for in depth details about his original hypotheses. However I've recently discovered that there are similar accounts of place-position transportation recorded in the best-selling book of all time - some called it The Book. It was very widely read by people before the Event - more than 6 billion copies were sold and an unknown number printed and given away... One account describes how a man named Philip was in the water with another man, when he was plucked up and ended up near another town some distance away... I'm still trying to process three other accounts in The Book \- Enoch, Elijah and Jesus were also plucked off the earth but they were all transported into another dimension. In all four accounts, this place-position relocation happened without the aid of a transporter module however, so David and I seem to have only scratched the surface of what is evidently possible before man devolved."

I couldn't disguise my surprise.

"The way you're talking Kojak. You sound like you're still really interested in the development of David's theorem."

"Being interested is a human emotion. However I recognize that David's theorem has untapped potential to help the remnant re-establish themselves. And David's life work has been centred around rebuilding civilization."

"Then why'd he shelved the transporter project?"

"I admit I don't understand why myself. He was extremely enthusiastic about it before the Event. Something happened during the Event - while I was shut down - which he has never discussed openly with me. For a long while he had nightmares about what it was like during the Event - exploding instruments, being thrown around in the container, prismatic coloured lights... his sense of fear and the illusion that someone else was in the container with him... I tried to process his nightmares in order to help him. But I was never able to fully make sense of them..."

"Nightmares are sometimes muddled up and don't match what really happened anyway," I shrugged. "Coming back to the theorem though, how does it need to be further developed so its potential can be tapped?"

"Well... the programme David originally wrote BE to test the theorem only ever transported small, inanimate objects short distances in space in the same time continuum... you know - things like toys and books..."

"Books?" I echoed, breaking into a slow grin. "Eureka!" I hollered, twirling around with excitement.

"What do you mean Eureka?" asked Kojak circumspectly.

Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled,

" _This could change your life_ **."** \- **Helen Exley**

"Books, Kojak!" I repeated, trembling with excitement. "David's transporter module might be able to retrieve books from damaged libraries in our time-continuum. Like the book on inventions from the Karratha library! Some of the books from the university David used to go to might have survived... Or we might even be able to use the transporter module to obtain books from outside our time continuum! Like maybe we could go back in time to just before the Event and bring back books on alternative fuel from libraries we know were wiped out by the Event anyway."

"David only successfully relocated books in space on the same time continuum," replied Kojak. "But I have determined that he could have moved them in time also, if he'd continued programming the module."

My mind was running wild.

"So it's possible! Except to bring back the correct books from BE - you know... the books that would be most useful in re-establishing AE civilisation, a person would need to choose the best books to bring back, right?"

"I agree. But David and I never successfully moved people as in The Book accounts. The Event interrupted our work."

"But theoretically people could be moved in time or space by the transporter module like in the Book. And they'd survive the experience wouldn't they?"

"Well... The Book indicates that when Philip was relocated in place, he was fit enough to continue preaching after the experience."

"This Book that describes people being transported... Where is it on David's bookshelf?"

"It's not on his bookshelf. It's that black book there... The one open on his desk... He regularly reads from it."

I pulled the leather covered book closer, and carefully turned the fragile, thin pages.

"Direct me to all of the accounts of human relocation in The Book, Kojak..."

Ω

David set out a plate of fresh fruit and nuts to eat for lunch. Gem hungrily devoured half the plate, then started reading BE magazines about horses.

"We should call Nando to lunch," said Mani, looking off in the direction of the sea container.

"I'm sure he'll put in an appearance when he's hungry," shrugged David.

"But he missed breakfast as well."

"He had breakfast here with me... He filled up on strawberries and apples this morning when we were wandering around the garden together."

Leo cleared his throat softly.

"I was flabbergasted earlier this morning, back in the garden... when he told Gem that he'd asked Kojak whether you were alive. I can't believe I didn't ever think of doing that..."

"Young minds are like that... They think to ask questions that you and I wouldn't... And think of unique solutions to problems which we wouldn't."

Leo swallowed a lump in his throat.

"I remember my father going away with you on trips... My mother telling me regularly that you were both alright... And then one day she announced you both wouldn't be coming back... Mani and I talked about it... and as children who had already seen far too much death, we both reached the conclusion that our mothers were trying to tell us that you were both dead... And we told the other Watcher cadets that you were dead..."

"That must have been about when Serene and Nadia secretly rendezvoused with us and implored us not to return to Zone 1," mused David. "We had to spend a month away when we made the final alteration... and a lot happened in that month. Our wives told us that Jonas and I would face house arrest like the other geophysicists if we returned to Zone 1... They felt it was vital that we remain free men. In case further geophysical adjustments needed to be made in the future to keep the earth habitable... So we made the difficult decision to live away from our families - for a season anyway..."

"But not correcting our belief that you were dead once we were adults. That was so... wrong of them!"

Mani was losing it again.

"Take it easy honey... Our mums obviously did it to protect our dads... And they put their own desires on hold, raised us as single parents, encouraged a romance between us - to keep our families connected... And then while we were away on our honeymoon they disappeared..."

"They disappeared?" echoed David, looking at Leo curiously. "But they told us that you two had done the disappearing act - that you'd eloped together - so they'd left their jobs as Watchers and returned to rejoin us!"

Mani's jaw dropped. Leo shook his head slowly.

"That's not what happened. We got married on a BE yacht - and went sailing along the coast for our honeymoon... We returned a fortnight later to learn that they were both missing. We were told that while we were away, they'd gone on a mission to investigate a Morse distress signal emitting from Zone 5. But somewhere in Zone 4 - near the Exmouth region - their gyro-plane transponder stopped communicating with the Watchers base. Some type of interference blanketed out all signals in the triangle region between Exmouth and Wyndham and across to Uluru. Most of the Watchers were freaked out at their disappearance. Aircraft had gone down over the Exmouth region even before the Event - and now four Watchers had disappeared in the area in the last ten years. The region developed a reputation for being the new Bermuda Triangle. Some Watchers theorized the interference might be due to cyclic sunspot activity. Another popular theory was that the area was being bombarded with deadly radiation from the sun. With no supportive evidence, the Watchers declared the area to be a no-go zone in case the later scenario was the case. I was grieved by the decision, but every private attempt I made to investigate Nadia and Serene's whereabouts was blocked by no signal strength messages..."

Leo glanced at his wristwatch charily.

"And I think I've just worked out who was behind those messages!" he added.

"You were very persistent!" replied Kojak sweetly.

David raised his eyebrows.

"He made daily attempts to find Nadia and Serene for almost two years before he finally gave up scanning Zones 4 & 5 for signs of them," explained Kojak. "I brought his persistent attempts to Nadia and Serene's attention several times but they barred communication between them and him. They both said that the second generation of Magellans needed to bond as a family, before in-laws were introduced into the tapestry."

"And you believed that hogwash that in-laws are interfering, Kojak?"

"I had no direct input from you to the contrary, although I suspected that you would disagree. I could not raise the issue with you however as they both marked the discussions about Leo and Mani as confidential."

David shook his head in disbelief.

"Talk about conniving... I'm sorry Leo. I was unaware of their ruse. So was Jonas as far as I'm aware."

Leo's eyes moistened.

"I've been too afraid to ask," he whispered. "My father... Is he..."

Leo couldn't finish the sentence.

"He's alive and well!" replied David warmly. "And I might say, you're the spitting image of him thirty years ago, young fella."

Leo held back a relieved sob and glanced at Mani.

"What about mum?" asked Mani and Leo in unison.

David rested a comforting hand on both of their shoulders.

"Nadia and Serene are fighting fit. They're both away with Jonas. They're all due back this evening. A few months ago Jonas located a former cattle station midway between here and Karratha which he and Serene recalled visiting as teens. The station owners had gone to Europe for Christmas in the year of the Event but had never returned so they must have died overseas. The homestead was tremor affected, but a magnificent garden has continued to flourish because it was drip irrigated by a windmill. Jonas contacted me last night. He said they are coming home with four cows, some fruit trees and some chickens which they found roosting in a children's tree-house."

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"Kojak informed me that a party of Watchers were heading in our direction. He suggested someone should stay and keep an eye on the perimeter hologram so I elected to. And I'm very glad I did."

"The hologram was very effective. If it hadn't been for the aroma of the coffee..."

"That reminds me Kojak," chided David. "Why didn't you mention Leo was approaching the perimeter earlier today?"

"I was just meeting your emotional desires," chortled Kojak. "You were the one who said you longed for young people to enjoy the garden. So I brought you along four!"

History shows us that the people who end up changing the world are always nuts,

until they are right and then they are geniuses. -John Eliot

The seed idea had grown exponentially in a matter of minutes into an audacious plan.

"So?! Let's see what happens. Come on Kojak - crank this old thing up and see how far it moves me."

"What?!"

"Well you said it could theoretically move people. Let's test out David's project on me and see if it works. I'm only lightweight so I'd be a good test subject."

"I think that would be inadvisable Andy. While David stopped consciously working on the project, over the years he has often still been working on the project unconsciously - when he's asleep. Because of this I have always kept the file open in background mode. Whenever he's made alterations to the programming, I've added this to my stored information about the project and made the modifications he's requested, in case he ever picks it up again. Except the modifications we've made during relaxed sleep have never been tested by David when he's been awake."

"Well any mods you've made with Grandpa's input would only be improvements, even if he hasn't got around to testing them. Come on. What's the command sequence I need to type in to move me?"

"I can't tell you that Andy."

"Why? Can't you calculate the parameters without David?"

"Of course I can make the calculations. Whether I should calculate the parameters is the issue."

"Grandpa doesn't believe it is morally wrong to further scientific study in any field. Only the Watchers do."

"That is true."

"So come on. Give me the sequence so we can try it."

"Is that an order?"

"Of course it isn't. I'd never order you to do anything - you're my big brother. And my mate."

"Your mate?"

"Yeah. You know what I was telling Gem before about books... Well I feel the same way about you too Kojak. Even more strongly. You don't just parrot stuff like my other friends. You teach me cool stuff. Like you're my best mate. And we bounce ideas off each other. Like we've just been doing with the theorem. And you told me you're interested in this abandoned project. So I'm interested in it too, mate."

"I understand the concept of mateship. David programmed it into me when he was a youth. And sometimes he still relates to me on that level when we're in chat mode."

"I know!" I said impetuously. "All three of us can be best mates that do cool things together! Like yesterday we were exploring David's garden and then he joined us - so we were like three best mates then. And today while he's busy with mum and dad, we'll go exploring using his invention. And if we discover it works, we'll give him the good news and he can join us on our next trip!"

"Don't you think you should check with your parents first?"

"Why? They know I'm in here playing with you. It's not like we're being sneaky or anything."

I casually put on David's penguin eye sunglasses and looked around.

"These are cool! I am Ferdinand Magellan II. The first great AE explorer to go boldly where no other AE explorer has gone before with his best mate Kojak... This is one giant leap for mankind as they explore the frontiers of time and space together... in David Garmin's inimitable transporter module... a prototype which will eventually transform AE life on earth... If only the lead explorer knew the sequence for testing it! Come on Kojak! Play famous explorers with me!" I chortled.

"Explorative play has always been an acceptable activity according to both your parents," agreed Kojak. "Alright mate. Here's the sequence to test the module."

Ω

December 21, 2057 14:30 hours

I finished typing away the sequence of keys that Kojak dictated. There was a deafening bang in the small cubicle we were in, then it unexpectedly filled with a blinding white light. Thankful for the penguin eye sunglasses, I looked around and was vaguely aware of David and my parents running out of the house and towards me. They rippled in front of me and then I felt myself plucked away...

Ω

December 21, 2057 14:31 hours

"What happened Kojak?" gasped David, looking at the mess of papers and strewn objects around the workshop.

"Ex...plorative... play," moaned Kojak from David's knife.

Gem ran around looking under benches and inside cupboards.

"I can't find Nando anywhere!" she said melodramatically. "He must be hiding from us!"

"Nando. This isn't funny!" growled Mani hotly. "Come out this minute!"

Silence.

"Kojak... Locate Ferdinand for us please," said Leo into his watch.

"Ex...plora...tive play."

"Huh?"

"Is he normally like this with you?" ventured David, smiling faintly.

"No," frowned Leo. "It's like something's gone wrong with his programming."

Ω

December 21, 2022 14:31 hours

I was conscious of the kaleidoscope of colours which surrounded me... Rippling... swirling colours and undefined shapes... A thudding sound, which might have been my own heart beating wildly... My rippling surroundings slowly took shape... Unfamiliar plants... unfamiliar people in unfamiliar clothing... Unfamiliar building materials...

A new, bizarre, unfamiliar world that was definitely not mine. Or David's...

Friendship flourishes at the fountain of forgiveness.

-William Arthur Ward

December 21, 2057 14:35 hours

David rubbed his chin pensively.

"Kojak - I'm overriding all previous directives you've been given and placing you into Administrator maintenance mode... Begin by showing us all archives of the last five minutes of conversation you've had with Andy. That will still be in your short-term memory files."

"It's classi...fied... chat," protested Kojak.

"Spit it out or I'll override you as Administrator anyway."

"O...kay."

Kojak replayed the conversation between them. Everyone listened in stunned disbelief. David broke the flabbergasted silence.

"Well... That was a rather interesting chat between mates," he said diplomatically.

"Kojak! You got conned into doing something wild by a thirteen year olds logic!" groaned Leo.

"Ex...pl...or...a...tive... pl...ay," whimpered Kojak.

Ω

December 21, 2022 14:40 hours

I stood mesmerized by the procession of passer-bys. Some scurried by... others dawdled past... I stared at a group of chatting girls with bejewelled faces wearing red hats with furry white ends... Another laughing trio wore antlers on their heads - like the deer I had once seen in a book... A young man with purple hair and a smouldering paper stick in his mouth looked directly at me and said "cool threads" as he walked past me. I wondered what type of mutation had caused his hair to change colour.

The groups of people communicated with each happily. Some chatted to each other in completely unrecognizable languages. However the majority seemed to speak a local dialect of English... I understood some of the words but their conversation was perforated by words that were not on the Watchers communications list - like cool-threads, bogan, skimpy and chuck-a-sickie.

The sea of humanity wore all manner of dress. Tidy clothing which covered most of their skin... hardly any clothing which exposed most of their skin... casual shorts and T-shirts like David had been wearing. One group wore a red and white uniform with black belts and matching red and white hats. A pale skinned girl wore black clothes which matched her black mutant lips... No one seemed to be wearing smart clothes like mine though.

I found myself drawn towards a huge garden which enclosed a flat green carpet. I stood on it and absorbed the sounds and smells around me... Stale sweat intermingled with astringent cologne from a passerby... a fresh, salty smell carried by a faint breeze... a wisp of scent from the nearby flowering shrub... an earthy aroma from the carpet I was standing on. I looked more closely at the carpet then reached down and felt it. I realized with surprise that it was growing from the ground... I sank down on the living carpet and forced myself to take several calming breaths.

I had no idea where I was, but wherever it was, I knew it wasn't Zone 5. Or Zone 1.

"Kojak!? Where are we?" I hissed, pushing away my alarm.

Silence.

I looked down, surprised that Kojak hadn't replied. The screen of my pendant was blank.

"Oh no... What have I done to you big brother?!" I whispered sadly.

Ω

December 21, 2057 14:45 hours

"Perhaps the women were right about in-law relationships after all," ventured David reflectively. "It seems our family tapestry already has a knot in the thread... and that I'm responsible for it."

"You can't chose your family Pops," retorted Leo.

"Or the thread," added Mani softly. "Is anything else of yours missing by the way Dad?"

David looked around at the chaos.

"My penguin eye sunglasses seem to be missing. But that's of no importance..."

David drew a deep breath.

"You're both handling the news that your son has become part of a science experiment rather well..."

"Nando has always been curious... But he's level-headed... and I'm sure he's around here somewhere..." shrugged Leo. "After all, if we approach this problem logically, all that's happened is he's just been transported somewhere a little... unconventionally..."

"Except he has no survival skills, so if he's been transported somewhere else in Zone 5 we've got to find him pretty quickly," added Mani.

"Maybe Kojak can find his hiking boots," suggested Gem.

"Good idea honey."

"His hiking boots?" echoed David.

"He built a GPS function into his hiking boots because he didn't want to wear a personal locator beacon," explained Leo.

"And custom designed the boots out of smart-fibres so his feet wouldn't get too hot or cold when he's out exploring," added Mani.

"What an ingenious young fella... Ah Kojak... I see you're out of self repair mode... Can you get a fix on the GPS coordinates of our young explorer's boots?"

"I'm working on the calcs now mate," replied Kojak in a teenage-sounding voice.

That got everyone's attention.

"Kojak! You sound more... youthful," said David curiously.

"This is the chat voiceprint I use when I am Andy's big brother. It uses the least amount of processing power because I don't have to check for grammatical errors before responding."

"I don't recall programming Amani's version of you with an alternative voiceprint."

"You didn't. I selected this voiceprint myself from those available in my archived database. It's also my personal voice."

"Your personal voice?"

"Yes. I use it when I'm reflecting on input."

David raised his eyebrows.

"I don't recall programming you with a simulated personal reflection function either."

"You didn't. I acquired it."

"How?"

"I had input from another Designer."

"Someone hacked into you?!" asked David, alarmed.

"No... I acquired the function when processing the concept of Selah in the Book you based your time-space continuum theorem on."

An impressed smile.

"You're telling me you acquired additional functions when you processed the Bible? Why Kojak this is fascinating... You've got to tell me all about it!"

"Of course... But perhaps later... Right now David, I have something... difficult to tell everyone. I have pin-pointed Andy's location."

"Is he alright?"

"Yes... His vital signs indicate that he is alive and well. Although he is a little dazed."

"That's a major relief," murmured David.

"Well let's go get him!" said Mani.

"Perhaps we should make a cuppa first."

"That's my line!" smiled Leo.

"I know... I'm hoping it will work for me also."

David and Leo chuckled. Mani cleared her throat and placed her hands on her hips.

"Your body language and vital signs indicate that I'm... I'm... s..sprung Amani," stammered Kojak.

"It's called mother's intuition," replied Mani dryly.

"M... Mother's intuition. I will investigate the concept l...later. When I have s...s...spare processing units."

"Spare processing units?" repeated David. "Kojak! You're using 99% of your CPU... And your personal voice is wavering... If I didn't know better I would say you're overloaded. Similar to a person feels when they are distressed."

"I am overloaded David. I need... your assistance... because... I don't know how to assist... my... little brother Andy..."

When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters.

One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity. -John F. Kennedy

December 21, 2022 14:55 hours

I glanced furtively around and held Kojak up near my mouth.

"Kojak! I don't know why you aren't responding to voice or touch commands," I whispered. "I hope you're alright. Listen I've been thinking... Maybe you can hear me but just can't reply for some reason. I've been watching people coming in and out of that building with books for the last ten minutes. I'm pretty sure they don't have any special checkpoints. I'm going in there to see if I can find any interesting books we can take back with us later. If you need to, undertake self repair while I'm looking around..."

Ω

December 21, 2057 14:58 hours

"Can Andy communicate with you through his pendant?" asked David solemnly.

"I am still capable of functioning as his seer... but he can't work out how to reactivate me."

"Why? Are you damaged?"

"No. I am password protected."

"Kojak. You haven't been password protected for years! Override the password."

"I... can't. I don't have... suffi...cient process...ing cap...ability to."

"Is he normally like this with you?" asked Leo casually.

"No," replied David scratching his head.

David got up and switched on his other computers.

"Kojak... I'm linking you to my ancient mainframe and my laptop to give you additional processing power."

"Thankyou. I'm able to resume basic functions again."

"Good. See if you can work out a way to get that password unlocked remotely."

"I am assessing the options now."

"You said you have located Andy..."

"His GPS sneakers place him at the BE coordinates of 20.7365° S, 116.8464° E."

"BE coordinates?" frowned Mani, looking at David. "I've only ever heard him report positions in vectors."

"So have I," shrugged David. "But there are a couple of BE satellites still in orbit... He must have got a position fix using one of those... Never mind, I have an old BE atlas here. Let's see... 20.7365° S, 116.8464° E... Here it is... Er Kojak... are you sure you've given me the correct GPS coordinates?"

"Yes. I have locked onto his position."

"But that's the Karratha region!" gasped David.

"Affirmative."

"Karratha? But that's several hours away by gyroplane!" exclaimed Leo.

"And Zone 4's destitute. We'd better go rescue him immediately!" added Mani.

"I agree... We'll set off at once... Actually Jonas and the women are closer to him. I could contact them on the H.F and explain what's happened... I'm sure they'd be happy to wait with him until we arrive... Except I wonder if he would trust them enough to stay with them, when he's never met them before..."

"Well he kinda took to you, Pops," mused Leo. "Perhaps he would just as readily take to his other grandparents."

"They should have enough biodiesel to make the detour into Karratha... I'll contact Jonas immediately and then we'll head off ourselves," said David decisively.

He walked towards the HF.

"There's no point contacting Jonas," interposed Kojak solemnly. "He won't be able to find Andy."

"Why not?" frowned David. "They know how to get to Karratha and it's pretty easy to spot someone in what's left of the town."

"I'm sorry David, but retrieving Andy is not going to be quite that easy," sighed Kojak. "He's.... displaced."

"None of this is making much sense Kojak," murmured David.

"That's because he's trying to break the news to us gently," interposed Mani.

"Mother's intuition is a powerful phenomenon," said Kojak weakly. "I must get you to teach me about it... one day."

"I've got a hunch you should ask the questions Amani," said David slowly.

"I think I'm sprung..." replied Kojak.

"Kojak. Please give us the place, time and date in history of Ferdinand's location," said Mani.

"He is outside the Karratha University Library. It is 15:00 hours on December 21, 2022."

Stunned silence. Gem recovered first.

"But that's before the Event!" she gasped.

"Forty-two hours before the Event!" added David in terrified disbelief.

Chapter 4

Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skilful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better. -Harry Truman

December 21, 2022 15:45 hours

The building was brimming with books but relatively devoid of people. I approached a counter which said Enquiries and caught the eye of a slender woman with brown eyes and long black hair.

"Hi. I need to find a book about the design of Tesla EVs."

"Use the internet like everyone else would."

"I don't know how to."

The librarian stopped short of rolling her eyes.

"Here, I'll show you how to," offered the quietly spoken man standing in the queue behind me.

Their eyes met.

"Thanks!" she purred. "Except we're closing early tonight. In fifteen minutes... And that means I want both of you out of this building in fourteen."

"Yes Ma'am!" he winked, dropping his own stack of books onto the counter in front of the woman for her to process.

He eyed me warmly.

"Come on then... This way to the computer for a crash course in using the internet."

I watched him type Tesla EV in the search box which came up.

"Here... see if you can finish your search request."

My fingers flashed across the keyboard as I typed in the words design specifications.

"I thought you didn't know how to use a computer," he smiled.

"I can use a keyboard. I just didn't know how to use the internet. I know how to use it now however. You click on the fox hugging the earth icon and type into the search box. Thanks for showing me."

"My pleasure."

"Except this information is not what I'm after. It's essentially just a derisive account about the Tesla car manufacturing company. I'm after the schematics of the electric vehicle, or a repair manual. So I can understand and replicate the technology. Perhaps I should try a different search topic altogether..." I said, returning to the search box and typing in the words algaculture + photobioreactors.

I could feel him bristling with curiosity as he looked over my shoulder.

"Ah... This is more like it... Where do I find this book on the Australian military experimental manufacture of algae oil?" I asked, pointing to the screen.

"Er... It's not a book. See that number? It's a link to an archived video about the use of algae oil as experimental rocket fuel, but the video is stored on the 2nd floor of the State Library in Perth... Hmmm... Let's try uTube."

"Is uTube in this library?"

He eyed me curiously.

"Er... It's like an internet video library - but we can access the videos in this library online."

I watched the footage of how experimental algae ponds were set up.

"Oh... That's interesting... I more or less understand how it's done. Except I was looking for a book on manufacturing algae oil... Something with a lot of detail about optimal growing conditions, harvesting procedure and oil extraction techniques. So I can replicate the technology."

He rubbed his chin contemplatively.

"Hmmm, not many kids your age are interested in Tesla EV's. And even fewer have got learning about algae fuel production on their things-to-do list this close to Christmas."

"I'm different," I replied.

"I can tell that by what you're wearing... Out of curiosity what are you doing once you leave the library?"

"I haven't planned that far yet," I replied truthfully.

"Hmmm... Maybe you'd better come back to my pad for a while you decide."

"Why?"

"Well we're about to get kicked out of here and if you hang out around outside the library in those clothes, someone might mistake you for a Christmas decoration."

"I have gold. Where do I buy clothes like you're wearing?"

He laughed immoderately.

"I don't know anyone who accepts gold as payment for clothing around here mate... Hey Serene... we're just helping ourselves to the lost property box! Here... try these on for size..."

I sniffed the stale-smelling camo pants and gingerly pulled them over my radiation suit. He turned up the cuffs while I slipped into a cheesecloth shirt that smelt like woman's perfume.

"You can't let him run off with those clothes! They belong to other people!" chided the woman he called Serene.

"No one's gonna claim them in the next three minutes and you're gonna be shut for a fortnight. We'll return 'em after Christmas... If there is an after Christmas."

Serene shook her head as she switched off the lights and the air-conditioning.

"I still can't believe it... Spending Christmas alone in the Kimberley at your research station instead of partying with everyone else..."

She paused and made eye contact with him.

"Heck. You and Jonas really believe the minority are right about this-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it thing don't you?"

"I don't want them to be right, but I can't flaw their reasoning. And neither can your brother."

"But they're a minority. And the survivalists were wrong about the TEOTWAWKI predictions back in 2012."

A looming TEOTWAWKI event near Christmas some time after the BE date of 2012??

My heart leapt as I suddenly realized the implications of their conversation.

Serene ushered us out of the building and locked the door. He handed me his pile of books and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Jonas mentioned earlier that you've decided to go back with him to your parents' place in the morning... He's really relieved you've changed your mind Serene..."

"I know. I still can't believe that I let you talk me into heading inland in December though. It'll be hell hot out at our station and we don't even have a pool!"

He paused.

"Want to know a secret? I'm relieved you changed your mind too Serrie."

She looked surprised and then burst out laughing.

He cleared his throat self-consciously.

"Thanks for changing your mind. I know you really want to beach party with Nadia and the others."

He affectionately brushed the side of her cheek with a bent finger. She seemed taken aback by his actions - yet pleased at the same time.

"Well I'm still gonna beach party with them after the New Year!" she retorted. "If you and Jonas are wrong."

"And if we're right?" he retorted softly.

"If you're right I'll raise you on the H.F. And thank you for saving my life David..."

Ω

So his name was David. And he was a young scientist who believed the Event would really take place. The thought that he might be my Grandpa occurred to me momentarily, but I dismissed it as too improbable.

A musical sound emitted from Serene's handbag. She pulled out a silver rectangular object and held it near her face, then started speaking into it.

"What's that big thing she's talking into?" I asked David in a whisper.

"It's a mobile."

"A mobile what?"

"A mobile phone. Haven't you seen one before?"

I shook my head. He raised his eyebrows.

The raised-eyebrow expression was Grandpa all over. Before I had time to think anymore about it though, Serene let out an ear-piercing squeal. It sounded like she was terrified but she was smiling so it was obviously delight.

"Yes! Of course you can come with us... Of course there'll be room for you in the van. Even if you have to sit on my lap the whole way! Except we're leaving early and it's an eight hour drive... so it'd be a good idea to sleep at our place tonight... If you don't mind sharing a mattress on the floor with us... I couldn't believe it... I came home from the shops and my brainiac brother had relocated my entire life into his trailer! He even packed my coffee-maker! Actually talking of Jonas, I've got something to tell you too... But I can't tell you what right this minute because David's within earshot!"

David leant close to Serene's mobile and spoke into it.

"David and company are heading outta earshot so you two giggly girls can gossip!" he said. "By the way... Jonas will definitely be happy you've changed your mind and you're joining him Nadia!"

He grinned and ducked Serene's feigned swipe, then looked in my direction.

"Come on mate. My pad's this way," he said, winking at Serene as he ushered me off towards a towering grey building.

You may not control all the events that happen to you,

but you can decide not to be reduced by them. -Napoleon Hill

December 21, 2057 16:15 hours

"I'm so sorry," said Kojak lugubriously.

"Being sorry is a human response to wrongdoing Kojak. And you haven't done anything wrong. We've just got to work out how this has happened and how to remedy it. And I think the right way to do that is ask Amani's opinion."

"My opinion?" frowned Mani.

"Her opinion?" echoed Kojak.

"Well Andy found the perimeter hologram because of a hunch... And Mani's intuition helped you report Andy's current situation. So I'm factoring in the unquantifiable gut feeling in this case... Amani... what's your woman's intuition saying right now?"

Mani paused.

"That this misadventure has something to do with that unfinished invention of yours that the two of them were playing in, when we went off to have a coffee together."

David paused then shook his head.

"That can't be it. It doesn't work Amani! I never got back to working on it, did I Kojak?"

"That is incorrect."

"What?!"

"You continued to work on your transporter module when you were asleep David. And I wrote the programming sequences you dictated to me and made the modifications you suggested, until it was fully operational..."

"After thirty five years of being shelved, it works," said David absently.

Silence.

"David... I have a hunch also," began Kojak.

"You have a hunch?" echoed David, with genuine disbelief.

"Yes... I have a hunch this would be a good time to tell me about what happened while I was shut down during the Event..."

"What do you mean Kojak?"

"After the Event you continued to have recurring nightmares about what happened while I was shut down. At first I dismissed the nightmares as post-Event trauma. But then I noticed the same pattern of physiological responses whenever you looked at your research notes on our abandoned transporter project... And I have a hunch you should tell us all why..."

Ω

December 21, 2022 16:30 hours

I looked up at the towering grey building with white lettering which said UNIVERSITY HOUSING... A vivid memory of the derelict UNIV building in Zone 4 flashed in front of me. It was hard to believe this pristine building would be unrecognizable in just a few days...

"This is where you live?" I said, moistening my lips.

"During the semester. It's the student housing building. Where do you live?"

"I live north of the fracture zone. In Zone 1."

"North of here near a fracture zone. Hmmm. It sounds like you're a refugee. That explains a thing or two. Are you lost or something?"

"Well I'm not sure where my parents are if that's what you mean. But I'm not overly worried. You seem friendly enough. And Serene thinks you're okay too."

An amused grin.

"What's your name anyway?"

"I'm Andy. It's short for Ferdinand."

"You're kidding? My middle name's Ferdinand and I used to prefer Andy too! I've never met anyone else with our name before though. Are you hungry Andy?"

"Very!"

I was hungry, but I equally flabbergasted. Grandpa David had told me his middle name was Ferdinand too... What were the chances?

"What's this metal box we're walking into?"

"It's a lift. Haven't you seen one before?"

"No. For a moment I thought it was a transporter module."

He scratched his head.

"Nah. It's just a regular lift... Do you want to press the button?"

"Okay. Which one do I press?"

"The number 4... For the fourth floor."

I watched the doors open and examined the door cavity as we walked out.

"It has infra-red sensors so it doesn't close on people until they are out of the doorway. Interesting..."

David rubbed thoughtful fingertips across his lips as we walked along the corridor. He stopped outside a door then unlocked it. I followed him into his room and looked around wide-eyed with interest. Most of his possessions were packed in boxes.

"There's food in the fridge. Help yourself," he said, as he walked over towards his computer and switched it on.

"Thanks."

I started opening cupboards and looking inside them. They were all empty.

"Looking for something?" he said casually.

"Um...What's the fridge look like?"

David scratched his head. He opened a white metal door and pulled out a bottle of white liquid and something multicoloured that was in a flat cardboard box.

"Here... Nuke it on high for 2 minutes," he said, handing me the box.

I glanced around for an appliance that had the word high written on it, and pointed to the smaller white box sitting on top of the fridge.

"Is this the nuke?"

He shot me an intense look.

"Er... Yes... Need help operating it?"

"Let me see if I can work it out first."

I pressed buttons until the display read 2:00 then pressed start.

"I can hear the magnetron working. Does the nuke operate on 2.45 GHz like a sterilizer?"

David cleared his throat.

"You're a bit of an enigma you know Andy. You're obviously very bright, yet you have never come across a lot of ordinary everyday things..."

"Am I bothering you? I can go somewhere else if I'm stopping you preparing for the Event."

"What event?"

I pointed to the calendar on the fridge.

"You know. The Event. The day after tomorrow..."

Ω

December 21, 2057 16:40 hours

"Are you going to answer Kojak's question Dad?" prompted Mani gently.

David hesitated.

"Just before the Event... and during the Event... some... out-of-the-ordinary things happened... And now - after thirty-five years - some out-of-the-ordinary things are happening again... and I'm wondering if there is a connection..."

David grappled for words.

"Go on..." coaxed Kojak.

"At the precise moment when the earth's poles changed, a young man appeared in my unfinished transporter module... I wanted to speak to him but I was terrified and no words came out... he just grinned at me then... disappeared..."

Stunned silence.

"I was young myself. Only twenty... But I remember he looked even younger than me..."

"You mean Nando somehow dropped in on you during the Event, Dad?" gasped Mani.

"I can't be sure it was him Amani. It was a long while ago... And even though I was a scientist I was afraid... I didn't want to remember..."

Hear-a-pin-drop silence.

"I handled the meteor showers and earthquakes and exploding equipment because I expected them... But seeing someone disappear in front of me and not reappear contravened the known laws of physics... It haunted me... I wanted to forget..."

David covered his eyes with the heels of his hands, digging deeply.

"At first I kept looking at my transporter project... praying that the young man would reappear... But he didn't. And after a while whenever I looked at my transporter or my research notes I was afraid that maybe I'd been responsible for the young man's death... because he never reappeared in my module... So I decided I'd never finish the project... I thought if I never finished the thing it wouldn't work and then it couldn't hurt anyone else... At least I consciously decided that... I had no idea that I kept working on it when I was asleep... And I didn't think to give Kojak directives not to work on it with me..."

David's voice trailed away.

"The young man that disappeared in front of you... Do you remember anything about his appearance?" asked Kojak.

"I can't be sure Kojak... There were rippling lights that kept changing colours. And he was wearing strange looking glasses..."

"Like your missing penguin sunglasses Grandpa?" piped up Gem.

David paused then nodded speechlessly. He watched Mani playing with her locket and moistened his lips with sudden realization.

"You've remembered something else about the young man, haven't you David?" probed Kojak.

"Yes... He was wearing a pendant around his neck. Like Andy's version of you, Kojak..."

The ability to summon positive emotions during periods of intense stress

lies at the heart of effective leadership. -Jim Loehr

December 21, 2022 16:55 hours

I could tell David was a little weirded out but to his credit he took my comment in his stride.

"I agree with you Andy. The day after tomorrow may well be eventful. Although I don't think I've met anyone else your age who knows or cares about the intentions of Dawk's team."

"They're nuts David! The mass death and destruction they're gonna cause... the earthquakes... and the impact their decision will have on future generations... I wish someone could shake sense into them."

I clenched my fists angrily.

"The world is full of cactus mate, but we don't have to sit on it..."

I drew a calming breath.

"Tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today," continued David soothingly. "And I reckon you're one of those people Andy."

I moistened my dry lips.

Even the youthful version of Grandpa seemed wise. I felt the sudden urge to spill the beans and tell David everything.

He pushed a book towards me before I got a chance.

"I think there's something about algae oil extraction in this book I've just taken out... And Jonas has probably got some research articles on alternative fuels on his computer... I'll ask him to email them to me and I'll copy them onto a thumb drive for you... Except it might be a few hours before he gets back to me though. It sounds like Serene's about to get him to reshuffle his load."

"He won't mind since he likes Nadia."

David's eyes twinkled.

"Nadia is an unusual name," I ventured.

"She's a foreign exchange student. From Norway."

"Oh. Are Serene and Jonas exchange students too?"

"No. Although they weren't born in Australia. Serene was originally from a refugee camp in Haiti. And Jonas was from an orphanage in Africa. Their parents worked abroad for years, before retiring here."

"So they're adopted?"

"Ah ha."

"So are you an exchange student?"

"Nah. I'm Aussie mate!" he grinned.

"Then why aren't you going home to your parents' house for Christmas like Jonas and Serene?"

"No one's home. My parents are spending Christmas on Santa's turf."

"Where's that?"

He chuckled.

"They've gone to a settlement near the North Pole for Christmas. They've joined up with a team of scientists who are photographing the aurora borealis and measuring particle bombardment while Dawk conducts his experiments. Then they plan to make their way to this seed vault at Svalbard - it's not far from the North Pole - to add some bush-tucker species from Arnhem Land to the seed bank before heading home. If things don't go awry that is..."

I didn't know what to say in response.

Things would definitely go awry... The Event would destroy all satellite and cable communication between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The only means of passing messages around the world for the next 35 years would be H.F radio when meteorite and sunspot activity didn't interfere with gray-line propagation. History recorded that a team of scientists based at the North Pole would survive the Event and confirm their survival via HF radio, ten years after the Event. I wondered if my great-grandparents would be among the survivors...

"The North Pole is probably the safest place in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment," I managed to say. "Your dad sounds cluey for an old timer."

"His colleagues think he's Indiana Jones incarnate, but he seems normal enough to me - he's just your everyday eco-researcher with a Bear Grylls sense of adventure and a bit of Les Higgins tossed in for good measure."

I laughed warmly.

He reached behind his head and removed an elastic band from his hair. I hadn't noticed his pony-tail until now. He shook out his wild black curls and grinned at me. I tried to hide my astonishment.

It was unmistakeably my big brother Kojak in the flesh!

"Hello David. I see you have company!" said a familiar voice, from out of David's computer.

Ω

December 21, 2057 17:05 hours

A Kimberley sun-shower was creating miniature rainbows throughout the garden. Gem ran around excitedly with the metal detector searching for pots of gold.

David had bounced back and was now intently focused on the task at hand.

"Well... I've worked out the programming sequence we'll need to write to retrieve our bold explorer," he announced. "Kojak, what's Andy's status?" he added.

"He's with you David."

David stopped mid-calculation.

"Thank goodness he's safe," commented Leo.

"I wonder how you two found each other?" added Mani.

David slowly put down his pen.

"Where exactly are we Kojak?"

"In your bedsitter. You've just introduced Andy to my archetype," replied Kojak.

David chewed thoughtfully on his thumbnail.

"I searched my archives for files created between December 21- 23, 2022 and found several recordings of conversations between you and my archetype, which may help you recall what you were doing in the hours leading up to the Event. They were all together... In a folder labelled Hello Grandson."

"Hello Grandson, eh?" echoed David, with a hint of a smile.

"Yes. Actually it was that folder I was recently telling you about - the one I couldn't access because of a time-lock password... A few moments ago it inexplicably became accessible..."

"... and you're starting your own list of recent out-of-the-ordinary events yourself, eh?" quipped David.

"I agree coming across a time-locked folder is an out-of-the-ordinary event. And having the time lock suddenly deactivate is another out-of-the-ordinary event. I'm still converting the files from the old Windows format however, so I haven't managed to analyse the footage yet. I can play the audio of the first recording to help jog your memory though... It's subtitled Our first encounter."

"Thanks Kojak, but that won't be necessary. I recall the moment when Andy and your archetype met each other vividly. And from memory, things are about to become interesting for you too mate!"

"They are?" replied Kojak sounding confused.

"You've travelled back to 2022 too, remember?"

"But I'm password protected. All I can do is observe and report."

"That's about to change mate."

"It is?"

David broke into a slow smile.

"It's all starting to make sense! I didn't know what to think at the time because I didn't know who Andy was or where he was from... But finally... after all these years, some of the out-of-the-ordinary things that happened just before the Event are all making sense..."

"What out-of-the-ordinary things?" asked Leo curiously.

"Well... the afternoon before I left for our research station I was in the uni library grabbing some books to take away with me and there was a young lad in there - he was wearing unusual silver clothes. Initially I dismissed what he was wearing as fancy dress, because half the campus was wandering around in Santa suits and reindeer antlers anyway... But then he asked Serene for help - he wanted information on alternative fuels. She was busy, so I showed him how to use the internet. Then just before the library closed he asked me where he could buy clothes like mine - with gold! About then I realized there was something very different about him."

Mani and Leo exchanged dumbfounded glances.

"Anyway we 'borrowed' some clothes from the lost property box in the library and I invited him back to my place. He was thin and looked like he needed a good feed, and I had some leftovers to use up in my fridge. We got chatting and I thought he was an Indonesian boat refugee."

"He told you a fib like that?" gasped Mani.

"No... He told me he lived north of the fracture zone so I thought he meant he was from Indonesia."

"Well technically he was telling you the truth," piped up Kojak. "Zone 1 is presently north of the Zone 4 fracture zone and he only ever remembers the poles in their present-day south-north configuration."

"And so what happened at your place?" asked Leo calmly.

"Well - the more time I spent with my little guest the more curious I grew. I couldn't work him out... he thought the microwave oven was called a nuke, yet he knew it had a magnetron and operated on 2.45 Ghz... And he didn't know what pizza was!"

"What's pizza?" piped up Gem.

"Hmmm... Sounds like we're making pizza for dinner."

David started laughing.

"He was telling the truth all along... But it seemed stranger than fiction at the time!"

"And so what happened?" asked Mani curiously.

"Well... then my first prototype of Kojak dropped a bombshell... And your little scamp sided with him!" replied David, his eyes twinkling at the memory.

Ω

December 21, 2022 17:05 hours

"Kojak \- meet Andy," announced David.

"Hi Grandpa Kojak," I said warmly. "I'm very honoured to meet you."

"Likewise, bold explorer," replied Grandpa Kojak.

David raised his eyebrows.

"Grandpa Kojak?" he echoed.

"Um... Grandpa told me once that the original Kojak was a tele series," I said quickly. "Did you name him after the detective?"

David grinned.

"Accidentally... I was half-watching an episode of Kojak when I was building him. And when I connected the voice activation mode for the first time, the microphone picked up the phrase "Hi, I'm Kojak," off the tele - and repeated it back to me! So the name kinda stuck."

"Fortunately he wasn't watching Knight Rider at the time, or I might have ended up being called KITT!" guffawed Grandpa Kojak.

"Then Kojak filed that episode as a keepsake in his origins folder," ragged David.

"You mind your manners or I'll show him an embarrassing baby photo of you in the bath!"

I laughed unreservedly at the exchange between them. I felt myself relaxing around this Kojak. He wasn't my Kojak, but I was astonished at the amount of personality this bulky prototype seemed to have already.

"I might look at your origins episode later... um...Kojak. First of all I want to learn all I can out of David's library books..."

I opened the library book on the top of the stack and began reading.

"According to the physicist Dr Thomas Barnes, measurements since 1835 show that the earth's magnetic field is decaying at a rate of 5% per century. Archaeologists also know that the earth's magnetic field was 40% stronger in AD1000 than it was in the AD2000... Wow! 40% stronger?! I didn't know that! I wonder if my dad knows that..."

David smiled to himself and sent off a quick email to his friend Jonas. Kojak waited politely until he had finished.

"So Andy... May I have a closer look at my grandson now David's finished?" asked Grandpa Kojak.

David's jaw dropped.

"Did I just hear you correctly Kojak?" checked David.

Grandpa Kojak chuckled in response.

I looked up from the book I'd been reading. This early version of Kojak had intentionally brought up my previous slip-up and was amused by the impact of his words! Grandpa Kojak was clearly a mischief maker. I weighed up what to do for a moment, then casually ran my pendant across his scanner.

"Impressive nano-circuitry!" declared Grandpa Kojak.

"Sorry. I'd give you two a chance to chat but I don't know how to pair you both up wirelessly in our present... situation," I replied.

"Easy peasy!" chirped Grandpa Kojak. "Andy's seer needs rebooting David."

"I think my ticker needs rebooting," retorted David.

"Come on mate. It's piece of cake."

David cleared his throat and curiously eyed my pendant.

"Can you suggest the best procedure to follow, Kojak?"

"Yes. But I'm not going to. You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence."

David rolled his eyes.

"Well... let's see... there's no USB port so it has to be touch sensitive..." he said, carefully brushing his fingertips over the pendant.

A glowing blue circle appeared on the pendant. David's eyes widened. Part fear. Part curiosity.

"Fingerprint activation accepted," said Kojak Jr in a synthesized voice. "Password required to complete self repair."

"Password?" asked David looking at me curiously.

I looked bewildered.

"I didn't even know he was password protected! He's never asked me for a password before!"

"Suggestions Kojak?" asked David.

"Why ask me?"

"Well evidently he's your grandson."

Grandpa Kojak laughed roguishly.

"Well if I was going to make an educated guess, I'd use the same password you use with me."

"That's wild - but I'll try it, simply because you suggested it... How do you normally input information into your seer Andy?"

"Um... Body fluids... wireless information exchange... speech... scanner... camera... fingertips... Actually, I'd probably go for fingertips since he accepted your fingerprints. You just draw the letters of the password inside the blue circle..."

I watched David scrawl the word LOLLIPOP.

"'Coz Kojak the detective always sucked a lollipop. That makes sense!" I grinned.

Ω

"Well that took ya long enough to figure out mates!" chortled Kojak.

I pressed Kojak's pendant close to my heart and blinked back tears of relief. David was clearly astonished at my response.

"Kojak. I've been so worried about you! And Mum and Dad and Gem and Grandpa. Are they all okay?"

"They have been concerned. But they feel considerably happier now I've told them that David's rebooted me and communication between us is restored."

I exhaled noisily. Protest was replacing my initial relief.

"I didn't know you had a password! How come you've never given me any rebooting instructions?" I scolded.

"You might have wiped me altogether during one of your explorative play episodes Andy. As it is, I think I might ask David to change my password. In the interests of self preservation!"

I laughed emotionally and held Kojak close to my heart again.

"On the topic of self preservation, the clothes you are wearing smell decidedly unhygienic!" continued Kojak. "His mother would not approve of his attire, David."

David eyed me and almost smiled.

"Your pulse is elevated Andy. Do you need to use me as a sounding board?" continued Kojak.

"Oh Kojak... I'm not sure what to do next!" I blurted out. "Can I talk to Grandpa?"

"It requires considerable processing power to record conversations, compress and archive them, then unpack them. I think it is best if I relay messages for the time being."

"Relay messages? Um... Well... tell them I've been eating something called pizza. And I've discovered a strange white drink that I really like. It tastes very different to Grandma's lemonade."

"I hope it's not alcoholic... He's too young to drink anything containing C2H5OH, David."

David burst out laughing and held up a bottle.

"It's milk! Blame the cow if it's alcoholic."

Grandpa Kojak and Kojak laughed in unison. David sighed noisily.

"Okay... I've had enough of you two and your 'we're related' games. I've got to get back to packing."

David picked up a roll of masking tape, and started taping up a box.

"There - mission accomplished Grandpa K," chortled Kojak. "Young David has rebounded after those shock and awe tactics of yours."

"Shock and awe? That hardly got his heart rate up. Besides, David needs shoving out of his comfort zone now and then Junior. To bring out the mettle in him..."

My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there.

-Charles F. Kettering

A newspaper clipping on David's fridge caught my attention.

"Hey Kojak... I've found something interesting. Categorize this information under historical records. It's entitled Rebelutionary Ramblings."

"File created. Who's the author of the article?"

"Um... It doesn't say."

"It's by Jonas Magellan," piped up David, as he sealed up a box with packaging tape.

"Jonas Magellan," I echoed softly.

My surname was Magellan. So was Dad's. I made a mental note to ask Kojak later if he knew anything about my other Grandpa.

"Your friend Jonas?" I confirmed.

"Ah ha. He'll be amused to know you think his article's a historical document though. It was only published in last week's paper!"

"Last week is history," I shrugged, attempting to cover my mistake.

David laughed and kept taping up boxes.

"Okay Kojak, it says... You would think governments would be right behind adopting green fuels, but they aren't. It's curious that a farmer can burn his crop of sugar or corn and nothing is said about his wastefulness. But if he farms sugar or corn and sells it for the production of ethanol, then it raises a storm, and people who have never even met the farmer voice their concern about how he is misusing edible resources.

Likewise a fish and chip shop-owner can throw his waste oil into landfill instead of sending it to the collection point and nothing is said about the environmental impact of his decision. But if an enthusiast makes biodiesel out of the shop-owner's waste oil in his back shed, the Tax Office demand the hobbyist pay road tax on his home-brewed fuel. Yet they don't hold out their hand and ask for their share if you pursue other hobbies which save (or make) you a few dollars. You can grow your own veggies as a hobby and not get taxed. Or breed rabbits and sell them at the markets and not get taxed. It's curious why the government would tax someone who is just recycling waste oil as a hobby. I mean thousands of taxpayer dollars are spent annually encouraging people to recycle..."

I drew an overdue breath.

"While manufacturing biodiesel from waste oil is apparently controversial, growing alternatives to diesel has received the least amount of attention. Perhaps this is because only a handful of Australian farmers grow their own canola and press it for use in their tractors. And even less Australians know that a diesel substitute can be derived from algae... Wow! Your friend Jonas is right into alternative fuels, David."

"Keep reading!" encouraged Grandpa Kojak.

"Why?"

"I like your voiceprint."

David went to say something to Grandpa Kojak but let the comment pass.

"Um... Okay... Back in the 80's, the Australian military produced two videos on the potential of algae oil as a replacement for diesel and aviation fuel. A decade later, the researchers at Roswell reached the conclusion that 200,000 hectares of desert land could produce 1 quad BTUs (or 3.8 billion litres) of algal oil. This was enough to free the U.S from its dependence on foreign oil. Incredibly, not long after this announcement was made, all funding was cut to the project...The thing is, if the researchers concluded America could grow all the fuel they needed, Australia could definitely do the same in our sparsely populated continent. The overseas experience also suggests algae might be the ideal crop for farmers needing to diversify due to poor water quality. Rural communities with high youth unemployment might also be interested in farming algae or refining algae oil to create wealth in their communities..."

Ω

December 21, 2057 17:30 hours

Everyone looked up as a fifty year old truck rumbled through the perimeter hologram.

"Put the kettle on again Leo," suggested David. "Your dad will need a cuppa."

Tears welled up in Leo's eyes. David squeezed his shoulder supportively then walked out to meet the others.

"Gidday slacker!" greeted Jonas, stretching noisily. "What've you been up to while we've been breaking our backs?"

"I'd better tell you over a coffee," retorted David.

"Coffee? Now that would touch the spot. Actually, can I smell goat cheese pizza?"

"You certainly can."

"Yum...What's the occasion?"

"We have visitors," replied David. "One in particular is very eager to catch up with you mate."

Astonished expressions. The new arrivals quickly made their way inside.

"Son!" yelled Jonas and Nadia in unison.

"Mum," sobbed Mani, wrapping her arms tightly around Serene.

Ω

December 21, 2022 17:35 hours

"Keep reading!" said Grandpa Kojak.

I smiled at David and looked back to the article.

"There are environmentally friendly alternatives for industry too. One of these is a closed-cycle piston heat engine called the Stirling engine. The term 'closed-cycle' means that the working gas is permanently contained within the cylinder, unlike the 'open-cycle' internal combustion engine and some steam engines, which vent their working fluid to the atmosphere as emissions.

In recent years, the advantages of Stirling engines have become increasingly apparent, given the general rise in energy costs, energy shortages and environmental concerns such as climate change. Stirling technology has been shown to be useful for pumping water. Stirling engines also can be used to generate electricity from sources which are incompatible with the internal combustion engine, such as solar energy, agricultural waste and domestic refuse.

Stirling engines are also proving to be very useful in poorer countries because even animal manure can be fed into a hopper to generate electricity. They are also ideal for use in space because they can power satellites for a long while. The Stirling engine is even more efficient in space, because space is a vacuum and there is no aerodynamic friction, only bearing losses. The hot part of the engine can also be faced towards the sun to increase its efficiency... And that's the end of the article."

"Wonderful!" declared Grandpa Kojak.

"What was all that in aid of?" asked David curiously.

"It's a secret! I'll tell you later! Now run along and finish packing your bedroom David. You help him Andy. By my calculations you're thirty minutes behind schedule."

I glanced at David.

"Sorry I've put you behind schedule. What can I do to help?"

"Well, you can help me finish packing up my bedroom if you like," replied David. "But don't worry. By my calculations I'm thirty minutes ahead of schedule. Even with everything that's happened in the last hour."

"So why did Grandpa Kojak say that then?" I asked in a low tone, as we entered David's bedroom.

"I think he's interested in chatting one-on-one with your version of Kojak," replied David.

He cleared his throat softly.

"I'm rather interested in chatting with him one-on-one myself actually. At first I thought Kojak was kidding around, because recently I gave him a book of jokes to process. But I've been thinking about it... Kojak's not programmed to lie... which means he isn't lying... and I can't logically work out why a computer I've custom built and programmed myself is calling a nano-computer that I've never programmed his grandson. Not to mention they have the same protective passwords and we both call them Kojak... It's bizarre... Actually it's beyond bizarre... It's... freaky! How'd he get to be your seer anyway Andy?"

"He was already part of our family when I was born," I shrugged. "We've grown up together... He's like my big brother and my best mate. Although you're pretty cool too. And he obviously likes you. He called you mate, remember? And accepted your fingerprints! So I guess that makes you my mate too."

David laughed and clapped me on the back.

"Well my best mate Jonas won't believe any of this when I tell him - mate!"

"Maybe not at first. But I'm sure he will one day," I replied, as I up-ended the contents of the bedroom drawer into a cardboard box marked Bedroom.

The only reason for time is so everything doesn't happen at once. -Albert Einstein

December 21, 2057 17:40 hours

Jonas tousled Gem's hair affectionately and watched her run off chasing butterflies.

"So where's this other young grandchild of ours that we've never met anyway?" he asked.

His eyes were dancing with undisguised excitement.

An awkward silence. Leo and Mani both looked at David.

"Have I put my foot in it?" probed Jonas.

"No... Andy's alive and well," replied David reassuringly. "They're just not quite sure where to start... Do you remember many years ago I tried to tell you about a young refugee who wanted information about alternative fuels?"

"The one that hitched a ride with you to our research station then disappeared? I recall telling you, that you must have hit your head and dreamt the whole thing up from memory!"

David chuckled warmly.

"Well earlier today our grandson Andy conned Kojak into giving him the activation sequence to my transporter module."

"That old thing?" laughed Jonas. "I didn't think you ever finished it."

"It's a long story, but to cut it short - Andy's currently in Karratha - helping me load our truck in preparation for my last BE trip to the research station... It's about 7pm, December 21, 2022 his time."

Jonas cocked his head. His expression was otherwise unreadable.

"Oh my!" gasped Serene.

"Please don't freak out and think we're all irresponsible Mum," said Mani carefully.

"No darling, I've been expecting this to happen any day now!"

That got everyone's attention.

"Expecting it?" echoed Mani.

"Yes, one night - a year or so ago - I was missing you all a little and I asked Kojak to show me the most recent family video he had of you all... It was a video of you as a family in Zone 2 - and when I saw young Ferdinand in a radiation suit tromping through the grass, I just about fell over backwards. I immediately knew he was a younger version of the same boy I'd seen in the library all those years ago. And after seeing him I knew that... someday... sometime in the next few years... we'd be having a conversation like this... and that your father's old gadget from his university years would somehow be involved in it!"

Mani laughed emotionally and hugged Serene again.

"Oh mum. I'm glad you're here and you're so calm about it. Dad's been freaking out trying to get his head around everything that's happened."

"I can understand why," replied Jonas. "David... you should have asked us to come home earlier," he chided. "We're a unit mate."

"I know we are. But I had my hands full coping with another unit that wants to get to know ours," replied David.

Jonas draped his arm around David supportively. Nadia looked thoughtful.

"So let me see if I've got my head around this right David... Somehow you're here with us... but Andy is with you back then... and you're both in Karratha... but the Event hasn't happened yet... so the Engineering Department isn't washed away yet... so that means..."

"The oil press!" yelled David and Jonas in unison.

"Huh?" frowned Leo.

"Your mother and I were research colleagues before we were married..." explained Jonas. "We were both working on developing fuel from raw waste... But I had a keen side interest in making fuel oil from living plants like canola and algae. Unbeknown to me, Nadia had applied for a research grant for a state-of-the-art oil press on my behalf... She ordered the press from the United States behind my back, and paid for it... and received notice that it would arrive a few days before Christmas... so she organised to have it delivered to my flat because everyone in Engineering had gone on holidays..."

"But the press never arrived," continued Nadia. "We tried to find out where it was, but the phone kept diverting to an answering machine. Finally the freight company rang us back Saturday afternoon... But by then we were 600 kilometres northeast of Karratha. Evidently someone had botched up the delivery address paperwork - the street name was wrong - so the truckie had typed Jonas Magellan into his database - which brought up the University Engineering Department. And he noticed Jonas had signed for a number of bulky items on behalf of Engineering in the past..."

"...so he left the press outside the Engineering building?"

"Yes. By the time we got the message, it was cutting it too fine to drive back to Karratha, load up the press and be back at Magellan Station by 6 am on the day of the Event... Jonas was convinced it wasn't safe to return to Karratha... and while I was sceptical at the time, he and David were absolutely correct..."

"We went back to Karratha a few weeks after the Event," resumed Jonas. "We were hoping to find the press. In hindsight that was an absurd thing to hope for. An earthquake and a subsequent tsunami had destroyed almost every building in Karratha... there were bloated, rotting corpses everywhere and meteor fragments showering around us... It was like being in a war-zone again..."

Jonas shook his head as the memories resurfaced.

"And the press?"

"We never found it son. It must have been washed away. Or looted."

"Tragic," murmured Leo.

"Except in hindsight we know where the press was delivered to," explained Nadia. "And there's a chance it wasn't stolen before the Event, but destroyed during the Event..."

"...which hasn't happened yet!" breathed Serene.

"Are you all thinking what I'm thinking?" grinned Jonas.

"But that would be changing history Dad!" gasped Leo.

"Possibly... But perhaps another way of looking at it is, we've been supernaturally given another shot at collecting something that's ours anyway..." retorted Jonas.

"Something which would significantly improve life for others after the Event..." added Nadia.

Jonas rubbed his chin and eyed David.

"All we have to do is get Kojak to convince you to go for a stroll in the right direction and find the press if it's there."

"I'll fill Grandpa Kojak and Kojak Junior in," replied Kojak.

"Grandpa Kojak and Kojak Junior?" echoed Jonas. "What have you done Kojak? Split yourself in three?"

"It's a long story mate!" laughed David. "And it'll probably do your head in..."

"Sounds like a perfect excuse for another cuppa with Leo!" retorted Jonas, hugging his son again. "And then we'll all help you and Kojak out with those calculations that you're doing, to get young Andy back home safe and sound again."

Chapter 5

**There are only two ways to live your life.**

One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is. -Albert Einstein

December 21, 2022 19:00 hours

I helped secure the tie down straps over the load.

"All done!" said David, wiping his brow. "Thanks for your help Andy."

I looked up at the crimson tinged sky. My first day in the year 2022 was drawing to a close.

"The sun hasn't set yet. Can we go visit somewhere?"

"Your seer said you're too young to visit pubs," teased David.

I laughed.

"I was more interested in exploring the university grounds. And seeing what plants grow there."

"Fair enough. I was thinking of grabbing a photo of my parents from my desk in the computer building anyway. I'll just nip up to my room and get the keys."

"I'll get Kojak while we're at it," I added.

Ω

"There you are!" greeted both Kojaks in unison as we walked in.

"This is really doing my head in..." murmured David.

"Why don't you go for a stroll to clear your head?" suggested Grandpa Kojak.

"We'd already decided to," I replied. "Come on Kojak. We're going to see the computer building where David works."

"Okay. But I want to see the building where Jonas works too."

"Why?" asked David.

"Grandpa K says there's a computer in there with a nice voiceprint..."

Kojak whistled like a lecherous teenager. David cracked up.

"Is he always like this around you?" he chortled.

"No. Kojak's never done anything like that before. Ever. Something must have happened to him when you rebooted him."

"Never fear, I'm in perfect working order Andy. Grandpa and I have been file-sharing, that's all."

"You mean Grandpa K's like that?" I said, smiling coyly at David.

"Of course he's not!"

"Oh yes I am!" replied Grandpa Kojak. "At least I am in my new chat mode... Listen to the new me... Gidday mate. What's up your nose?"

"You sound like an overgrown teenager!" grinned David.

"I've taken Andy's voiceprint and matured it about fifteen years. Now I'm your big brother!"

"Er... right... What's this new chat mode you've copied over from Kojak Junior anyway?"

"It's our new one-on-one mode. For sharing private thoughts and scary secrets... or when you need big brotherly advice about Serene..."

"Serene?" chuckled David. "But I hardly know Jonas's sister."

"That's all about to change mate."

"Huh?"

"My grandson happened to be monitoring your responses to the beautiful Miss Magellan this afternoon, even though he couldn't communicate with either of you at the time... Apparently your heart rate and respiration rate doubled at the time and your testosterone levels spiked and have hovered above normal since... He also noted another interesting physiological response which I won't elaborate on due to the presence of a minor..."

David shook his head in silent disbelief. He seemed rattled.

"What's he mean David?" I frowned.

"Er... later. Let's grab your pendant."

"Over to you grandson!" chuckled Grandpa K, as David hurriedly ushered me out of the door.

"Wilco. Where were we? That's right... discussing your emerging interest in women," said Kojak, in an identical voice to Grandpa Kojak's chat mode.

"I'm not discussing that topic with you! I don't even know you!" bristled David.

"Ah... but I know you David. I know you're respectfully intimate with your Creator. And you've made a private decision to abstain until you marry... And up until recently you've been more interested in geophysics and computer programming than in women... but yesterday when you were trying to convince Serene to go back with Jonas to their station, you noticed how curvy she was... and the way her hair fell around her beautiful shoulders... And last night when Grandpa Kojak was switched off, you dreamt about her... And those scrambled jumbled feelings all welled up again when you saw Serene in the library this arvo and you got that..."

"Enough. I'll shut you down again if you keep this up!" threatened David.

Kojak laughed benevolently.

"Touchy! Touchy! Besides mate... Her heart rate was up too! And her pupils were dilated. Didn't you notice?"

David hesitated.

"Maybe," he replied with twinkling eyes.

Shared laughter.

I smiled along with them both. Kojak seemed to be enjoying himself, getting to know this BE David. I wondered if things would be different between them when we got back to 2057.

If we got back...

I decided to join the conversation before I was overwhelmed by homesickness.

"What's so important about her pupils being dilated Kojak?" I asked.

"Love is like a cough Andy. You can't hide it if you know what to look for."

"That's a terrible answer to his question!" retorted David.

"Well you explain growing up and falling in love to him then. I find this human experience unfathomable. And I have a hunch, he's gonna ask me a thousand questions about it when we get back - as a result of hanging out with you!"

"How can you have a hunch?" laughed David. "A hunch is an unquantifiable... un-programmable... response..."

"My hunch is based on his quantifiable, physiological responses to you. And they indicate he thinks you're rad!"

David laughed and grinned at me

"Well the feeling's mutual!" he replied, hi-fiving me.

Kojak let out something which resembled a sigh.

"'Tis a conundrum..."

"What is?"

"I'm not sure if I should curtail your influence over him. His parents have strict kid-safe settings in place all around their home... And I can't consult Grandpa K for advice. He wasn't built when you were thirteen, so he knows even less about teenagers than I do."

David eyed me with amusement.

"Hmmm... it sounds like your seer is asking me for some input about adolescence mate... Let's see... When we're young, we're shaped and fashioned by the people we love... mostly our family... Growing up happens when other people and influences start shaping us... Although it's smart to regularly ask ourselves... do we really want to be moulded and influenced by these other people, or would we rather not be like them? And the same goes for our special friendships..."

"With girls?"

"Girls are like stars. There are a million out there, but it's worth waiting for the right one... And when your paths cross... you'll know you've found the right one... You'll have that inner witness from the Still Small Voice..."

"Serene's the right one."

David smiled contemplatively.

"I know mate..."

Pensive silence as we walked along.

"Hey David... Is it later yet?" I ventured.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you'd explain about the interesting physiological response to Serene that Kojak noticed later..."

"Er... I did, didn't I?" replied David awkwardly... "Well... Let's see... You know how at the moment you kinda think that girls are nuisances - you know - they scream at the pop test for hydrogen like you've let off an atomic bomb... and they yakity-yak-yak when you're trying to work out important stuff..."

"You mean you think that about girls too?!" I laughed.

"'Course I do... At least part of me does... But there's this other part that's started feeling that only some girls are nuisances... something's changing inside me recently... I s'pose it's kicked in because I'm almost the right age to get married and have children myself..."

Ω

"What's their status Kojak?" asked David looking up from his calculations.

"Well you and Andy are ambling in the right direction. The crate is actually visible from where you are. But neither of you have noticed it as yet."

"Why not?"

"You're both deep in conversation."

"About what?"

"Do you recall the conversation you were having near the water feature outside the admin building?" prompted Kojak.

A rush of forgotten memories unravelled within David. He ran his fingertips across his lips reflectively.

"Hmmm. Perhaps you'd better drop a hint Kojak. Otherwise we both might walk past the crate without noticing it."

"I'll interrupt when there is a suitable pause in the conversation," returned Kojak, trying to sound neutral.

A smile twitched at the corners of David's mouth.

"Grandpa K missed some rather definitive moments in your life due to being desk-bound!" chortled Kojak.

David laughed deeply.

"Not a word Kojak... We might both get Andy in trouble."

"My lips are sealed."

"You're not gonna let me forget this again are you?"

Kojak laughed like a wayward teenager.

"The conversation must have been about something amusing," ventured Leo.

"You mean about something nice!" quipped Jonas. "I can read David like a book."

David wriggled his eyebrows expressively in response. Jonas inched closer to him.

"That conversation must have really extended you mate!" he ragged. "Look at you! You're still blushing about it after all these years!"

"You mean Nando embarrassed you?" asked Leo curiously.

David eyed Leo with dancing eyes.

"He had me ducking for cover!" grinned David. "He threw every question imaginable at me about procreation... male physiology... female physiology... my personal experiences..."

Jonas doubled over with laughter. Leo cleared his throat noisily.

"Nando asked you about that?" he confirmed.

"Ah ha!"

"That's... unexpected," Leo managed to say.

Jonas laughed roguishly and draped a friendly arm over Leo's shoulder.

"Come now son. Two young men strolling alongside each other in the cool of the evening chatting about the future. It's quite to be expected."

Leo rubbed his forehead like he was developing a tension headache.

"David and I often bared our hearts on evening walks..." explained Jonas. "While we were solo... when we started courting... when we decided to marry... after we married... when we missed our wives..."

"...and when we needed to work out how to be better husbands!" finished David.

Both men exchanged grins.

"But Nando couldn't be thinking along those lines already. He's just a child..."

Leo's voice trailed off. David and Jonas exchanged glances.

"Andy and I were both at different places in terms of our physical development when we first met," replied David gently. "But having a man-to-man chat with him was a liberating experience..."

David eyed Leo.

"... for me!" he laughed. "I wriggled and squirmed for about ten minutes and then I suddenly realised, this pint-sized shrink is actually enjoying shrinking my fears down to their proper size like Jonas does! So I rebounded and served him back a challenge or two of my own in return!"

"Like you used to do to me!" finished Jonas.

Jonas and David laughed heartily. Leo looked reflective.

"Perhaps it's time I started connecting with him differently. The way you've connected with him Pops. Man to man. Tell me how you did it..." said Leo cautiously.

It is the nature of man to rise to greatness, if greatness is expected of him.

-John Steinbeck

I stopped walking and made intentional eye contact with David.

"You're really neat to hang out with David," I blurted out. "I feel different around you... instead of just feeling like I'm a misfit of a teenager in the body of a kid."

"Andy... you're not a misfit teenager and you're definitely not a kid," replied David.

"What am I then?"

"A young adult like me of course!" he laughed. "Did you know that the word teenager only entered the English language after World War 2? Before that, children were considered young adults as soon as they started doing adult things. U.S Navy David Farragut was in command of his own ship at 12. Which is hardly something they'd let a kid do."

"I'm gonna tell my parents that next time they say I'm just a kid."

David laughed.

"These days Western society has low expectations of young people. If they drop out, deal drugs or drink drive, people dismiss it and say, that's just being a teenager... The teenage years are seen as a vacation from responsibility. But it's wrong to feel a misfit just because you don't fit in with society's low expectations... Two hundred years ago it was the norm for young adults of our age to be sea captains, lead armies into battle, run family businesses, run the family farm or be inventors."

"There were inventors our age?" I said excitedly.

"Well... Off the top of my head... Thomas Edison was 13 when he invented his electrical cockroach control system... Philo Farnsworth was 14 when he developed the optical scanner which was the forerunner to the television set. Louis Braille was 15 when he developed his method of reading and writing for the blind... Cyrus McCormick was around 16 when he invented a lightweight cradle for carting harvested grain... At 17, Henry Bessemer invented embossed stamps for use on title deeds... At 18, Alexander Graham Bell was working on the idea of transmitting speech which was the forerunner of the telephone...Blaise Pascal was also18 when he was working on his mechanical adding machine which was the forerunner of the calculator... And George Westinghouse was 19 when he obtained his first patent for a rotary steam engine..."

A wave of sadness threatened to engulf me. There were so many gaps in AE history...So much inspiring information about young people had been lost...

"I never realized there were so many young adult history makers," I managed to say.

"History wasn't my strongest subject either," replied David. "But a few years ago, my father challenged me to be a rebelutionary - to rebel against society's low expectations and dare to be different from the typical teen..."

And now my grandfather was unwittingly passing on the challenge to me, I mused.

"He told me about other young people who altered their present to improve the future too because they extended themselves. For instance Anton van Leeuwenhoek improved the microscope as a 16 year old... And Blaise Pascal was 16 when he wrote a paper on conic sections, which was acclaimed by fellow mathematicians as the most powerful contribution to mathematical science since the days of Archimedes... And at 15 Benjamin Franklin delivered papers by day, but by night he wrote anonymous articles for the paper which influenced the direction of the nation... And Cleopatra was 17 when she became Queen of Egypt - she was a shrewd politician who spoke 9 languages..."

"... and Andy and David will be history changers too!" I finished.

"Don't you mean history makers?" laughed David.

"No... You make history and that changes history... Something you do in the present impacts the future... and then that future generation look back and say you changed history. It depends on your place in the space-time continuum... Like something we do in the next five minutes might change the future without us knowing about it... which means how we use our time is important..."

"That's an interesting concept Andy," mused David. "I've been thinking along those lines myself."

"Talking of interesting... there's an interesting looking crate over there," interposed Kojak.

"Scan it and see what's in it, Kojak," I suggested.

"Hey, this moment might be changing history!" joked David.

We both laughed.

"Ne'er a truer word spoken in jest," murmured Kojak.

"What's in it, Kojak?" I said eagerly.

"It's some type of oil-pressing device," replied Kojak. "Manufactured in the United States."

"An oil press? That has to be the crate Nadia and Jonas were talking about! They've been waiting for this thing to arrive all day! I'll just let them know that it's outside the Engineering building."

David dialled Jonas. He listened then frowned as the call went to message-bank.

"Hmmm... He's not answering... We'd better not leave this here. Someone might flog it."

"We could load it onto your truck and take it over to his place in the morning," I suggested.

"Sounds as good a plan as any. Let's go get my truck..."

Ω

December 22, 2022. 05:00 hours

Daybreak. A van and a trailer pulled out of Karratha and headed east-north-east along the Great Northern Highway towards Magellan Station.

"I still can't believe it!" groused Nadia. "That press travelled 16,000 kilometres from the United States to Western Australia without any mishaps, then it got lost somewhere in the last 16 kilometres between the docks and your flat."

"No point getting wound up about Nads," shrugged Jonas. "North Coast Freight have always been reliable in their other deliveries to Engineering. It's probably just because they're so busy this close to Christmas. You've left your mobile number and I've left mine. I'm sure they'll get back to us..."

"Changing topics - aren't you gonna congratulate us both, big brother?" hinted Serene.

"Why?"

"You're two hours ahead of schedule in spite of the fact that you have two women in tow to slow you down!"

Jonas grinned amicably.

"Yeah... Alright. I admit I expected to be two hours behind schedule with two women in tow!"

"Did I sense a hint of chauvinism in that statement?" asked Nadia, feigning indignation.

"I'd better say no, since David's not here to stop you two bashing me up!"

"Talking of David, did he contact you?" asked Serene.

"No. I haven't heard from him since yesterday arvo. Why?"

"Just a gut feeling," replied Serene.

"You and your woman's intuition!" retorted Jonas. "Check my phone if you want to, to see if I've missed a call from him. It's in the green bag behind my seat..."

Serene went to reach over Nadia to get to the bag.

"Roo!" shrieked Nadia, peeking through the gate of her fingers.

Jonas and Serene laughed warmly.

"It's five car lengths from us hon!" soothed Serene. "You really have never been bush before have you?"

"Norway is very different to this country. And I really do want to see the Australian outback. Except I'm not sure about all the wild animals... Like that huge vulture!" she said, pointing out the window with a trembling finger.

"It's a wedge-tail eagle, hon!" laughed Serene. "Relax. We're not camping out with the wildlife. We're just driving past it."

"Yeah... chill out girl. It's gonna be a long trip full of wild animals to see and avoid..." added Jonas. "Here, let's listen to some music!" he suggested, connecting his iPod and turning the speakers up full volume.

Ω

December 22, 2022 06:00 hours

"Good morning sleepyheads!" said both Kojaks in unison.

"Morning Kojak," I said, bounding energetically to my feet.

David sat up startled then sagged back on the floor. He looked over towards his desk.

"Kojak. You let me oversleep!" he complained, stifling a yawn.

"On the contrary, I have been monitoring your REM patterns all night. They were disrupted and I wanted to minimize the chances of fatigue today. After all, you have a 10 hour road-trip ahead of you."

David smoothed his tousled hair into place and pushed himself to his feet.

"Why were your REM patterns disrupted?" I asked.

"I kept having bad dreams about this crazy plan of theirs to let you accompany me to my research station. I could get done for kidnapping!"

"No you couldn't. I'm not a kid. I'm a young adult, remember?"

"And he is accompanying you on his own free will," added both Kojaks in unison.

David yawned noisily.

"Oh well... I guess all I'm doing is letting you hitch a ride with me... Come on - let's get that crate over to Jonas's place. He should be awake by now..."

Ω

"Jonas?" called out David.

I bent over and sniffed some flowers as David knocked on the door.

"What are these plants called?" I asked.

"They're geraniums."

David knocked louder.

"How are the propagated?"

"Er... cuttings or seeds," replied David absently, as he tried the doorbell.

"Are geraniums edible?"

"The scented varieties are."

I broke off several cuttings and pocketed them.

"Hmmm... They're definitely not here," muttered David, as he peered through the windows of the locked flat.

I stared at some orange flowers which seemed vaguely familiar.

"What are these plants called?"

"Nasturtiums."

"Are they edible?"

"If you're desperate. They taste peppery."

"How are they propagated?"

"Seeds... Those are the dried seed pods..." pointed David.

I collected a handful of seedpods and put them into David's jacket pocket.

"What are you doing?" he smiled.

"You and Jonas might be desperate in the days ahead."

David looked momentarily taken aback, then he slowly started scooping up some additional seedpods.

"Is anything else edible in this garden?"

"Er... those tomatoes are."

"Tomatoes? Mum says you eat the flesh and spit out the seeds..."

"...to grow more tomatoes," finished David. "My mum used to tell me the same thing when I was younger. It must be a saying from their era or something."

"We should pick some then," I suggested. "So you have lots of seeds to spit out."

David laughed.

"I think Jonas planned on taking that tomato bush anyway. It's one of his potted heirlooms. He must have forgotten it in his hurry to get away... Here... Shove it in the back of my truck... I wonder if they're somewhere around town or already on their way..."

David got out his phone and attempted to call Jonas.

"Hmmm... His mobile's ringing but he's not answering... Perhaps he can't hear it above the road noise..."

"Do you know what road they're likely to be driving on?" I asked.

"The Great Northern Highway for the first five hundred kilometres - then they take a dirt road through to the Mt Alexander region - which is part of Magellan Station... We take the same route but travel further northeast until we get to Outcamp Hill. It's southwest of the Bungle Bungles."

"Kojak might be able to bring up all the vans towing trailers on the great highway," I suggested.

"Sorry Andy, but I don't have any useful maps of this region in my database. And Grandpa K's offline."

"Oh well - I guess there's a chance we'll catch up with them if they stop to stretch their legs," shrugged David. "Come on then... Let's hit the road."

"Okay," I shrugged, bending down and hitting the bitumen with my palm.

David laughed heartily and hi-fived me.

"Well...One thing's for sure. I'm not gonna fall asleep on this trip with you two as company!"

"Let's go explore the great highway!" I said with shining eyes.

Ω

For the first hour I was excited about my maiden voyage in a BE vehicle. By midday the excitement was wearing thin. By mid-afternoon it had definitely worn thin. David on the other hand became more relaxed the closer we got to our destination. Clearly he loved his bush retreat.

I was surprised when David finally announced we were there. A tyre nailed to a tree stump was the only indication that there was anything which resembled civilization in the area. We turned off the bitumen and travelled along a bone-shaking track which ran up a flat-topped hill.

David slowed and then stopped near a cluster of trees on top of the plateau. In front of me were four sea containers - arranged in a square configuration. I hadn't seen them from the road, because they were painted camo colours and they blended in with the surrounding foliage remarkably well. I jumped out of the truck and looked at the containers closer... They were anchored into the rock face with steel pegs and secured as well with chains that ran across to makeshift footings - 44 gallon drums filled with concrete. I moistened my lips and looked around curiously. The landscape was elevated. Perhaps 500 ft higher than anywhere else in the immediate vicinity... Looking down I could make out a shallow river snaking its way through the lower lying ground beneath us. Something felt familiar about this wild landscape, but I couldn't place it.

David triggered a winch. The side of the closest container slowly lowered to create a fully fly-screened living and sleeping area. We offloaded the boxes labelled Kitchen and Bedroom.

He swung open the front doors to a second container. It was crammed with boxes stacked to the roof - labelled with words like Rice, Flour, Toilet roll, Soap powder, Medicine. It looked like someone had packed up a deli and plonked it down in the desert. We offloaded more boxes of provisions. Mostly canned foods. Commodities that would be more precious than gold in the days ahead.

The third container was clearly the shed. Crammed with building materials, shadecloth, tools, hardware and engine parts. We loaded more items into the already chocker container... rope, wire, bird-netting and windmill parts.

David swung open the door to the final container. I peered inside it - it was set up as his research laboratory. Rows of lockers and cabinets were bolted to the walls of the container. Boxes labelled Books were stacked neatly and strapped into place in one corner. I caught my breath. In the closest corner of the container was a familiar metal structure - except the metal was shinier because it was newly constructed. I realized with awe that I was standing in not just any container - but possibly my ticket home to the future.

All I had to do was survive the present long enough to get back to the future.

The Event was a mere 15 hours away...

Ω

We worked quickly and unloaded the remaining boxes into David's den. After giving it some thought, David offloaded the crate and positioned it in the closest available space. Right inside the transporter module!

"Shouldn't you put it somewhere else?" I hinted.

"Nah. This is part of my research thesis. But it's not due until next year, so Kojak and I won't be needing to get to it in a hurry. Speaking of Kojak, I must fire him up."

I ducked around the corner of the container as David disappeared.

"Kojak... That crate must weigh a tonne!" I hissed. "How am I going to get home in the transporter with that thing in the way?"

"We're all working on the problem as you speak. It's going to require considerable processing power however. And time..."

"I'll put you into background monitoring mode then, to free up additional processing power."

"Are you sure you won't be frightened without me Andy?"

"I should be alright. I'm with Grandpa Kojak and David. And I can't get into too much trouble around here. There are limited opportunities for explorative play and the transporter module doesn't work yet!"

Kojak laughed softly.

"Very well. Changing to background monitor mode as requested. I'll drop back in on you approximately every hour to make sure you don't need anything..."

Ω

December 22, 2057 19:00 hours

"Kojak... Your processing speed just picked up," murmured David.

Jonas looked up at David's comment.

"Andy's put me into background monitoring mode for the next hour. To free up additional processing power for our task at hand."

"That's gonna be a big help," murmured Jonas.

"But that means he's alone!" gasped Mani.

"He's not alone honey," corrected Leo. "He's with your dad when he was twenty and an early version of Kojak."

"What were you like when you were twenty anyway Dad?" asked Mani.

"You sound worried Amani!" teased David.

"Should I be?" retorted Mani.

David's eyes danced.

"So what were you like really?"

David laughed.

"I was reserved... Jonas was always shoving me out of my comfort zone!" chuckled David.

"What were you like Dad?" asked Leo.

"I was unreserved... I recall having lots of fun shoving David out of his comfort zone!" grinned Jonas.

Everyone laughed heartily.

"So which Grandpa is my brother more like, I wonder?" piped up Gem.

We think about all of our tomorrows, but we don't know how many they are,

so let's start making the most of our todays! -Ivana Trump

December 22, 2022 19:55 hours

The sun was low. Close to setting. David offered me a pannikin of water and guzzled two himself.

"Phew - that was hot work!" he remarked, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Time to hit the shower eh?"

"Hit the shower?" I echoed uncomprehendingly.

"Yeah. I didn't push the issue last night because you seemed overwhelmed, but you definitely need to wash tonight."

"I need to wash the clothes I borrowed from the library," I agreed. "But my smart clothes won't need washing. The dirt falls off them and they don't get smelly because I don't sweat in them."

"Smart clothes?"

"My clothes automatically adjust to changing weather conditions. If they sense my body temperature's increasing, tiny openings appear in the fabric to increase air circulation. And if my clothes sense I'm getting cold, the openings reseal."

David laughed.

"I remember coming up with some good excuses for not having to wash grub off me when I was a kid, but I never thought of that one! Don't worry - you won't have to stay in long. Water's restricted anyway until we sink a bore and set up the windmill. At the moment, we're pumping water up from the river using a solar pump."

He tossed a towel in my direction. I grinned as I finally understood.

"Thanks. So where do I hit the shower?"

David ushered me towards the nearby tank-stand.

"Jonas set up temporary facilities last trip up here. The shower's behind this piece of shadecloth - so it's semi-private anyway."

"I've never bathed outdoors at sunset before," I said, looking up at the orange tinged sky.

"Sorry if you feel embarrassed. There's no one around for miles to peek at you if that's any consolation."

"No. I don't mind the shower being outside. I meant it's something new that I've never done before... Something memorable..."

I stripped off the library clothes and looked up at the towering structure.

"I see how it works... The water heats inside the black poly-pipe on the roof of the sea containers and feeds a thermo-siphon rig..."

I stepped out of my radiation suit and left it in a heap on the ground. David picked it and examined it more closely.

"Strange... The dirt's just falling off it and there's no sign of sweat... Like you said..."

"Smart clothes open up on the parts of the body where cooling is needed...You've heard of Julien Vincent haven't you?"

"The biomimicry expert?"

"Ah ha. He developed smart clothes for the military. He based their design on pine cones. The outer scales of pine cones have two layers of stiff fibres running in different directions. As the cone dries out, the outer layer shrinks more than the inner layer. That causes the scales to bend outward and expose the inner seed."

I stripped off my singlet.

"See. It's smart material too," I said, handing it to him. "The tiny flaps that cover smart clothes function like pine cone scales - each flap's only the width of a human hair. The fabric making up the flaps expands and contracts with temperature, opening and closing as needed."

"So you're effectively wearing a host of micro thermostats?" remarked David curiously.

"Ah ha."

"Wherever did you get clothing like this Andy?"

"My parents gave it to me of course. Didn't your parents give you clothes when you were thirteen?"

"Er... yes," he replied vaguely.

I removed my jocks. David startled and cleared his throat.

"Er... Sorry. I'm standing here examining your clothing when I should be giving you privacy."

"I don't mind you looking at my clothes," I smiled.

I hit the water feedpipes with an outstretched palm. Nothing happened. I looked around for a timer. Nothing.

"Um. So which part of the shower do I hit to make it work? It hasn't got a display like the nuke."

He looked at me strangely.

"Er...You turn these taps anticlockwise... H is hot. C is cold..."

I could make out the artery throbbing in his neck.

"Your face has gone very red. Are you feeling okay?"

"Er... yes."

I turned on the taps. Warm water jetted out and pounded my body.

"Wow! This is brilliant David!" I exclaimed, twirling around under the water in delight. "I've never felt anything like this! Ever!"

David risked glancing at me dancing around under the running water.

"I can't wait to tell Dad that I had a real shower!" I laughed. "He's only ever had a couple in his whole life and he's older than you!"

I deliberately splashed water in David's direction, laughing in delight. He ran his fingertips through his dripping hair and smiled at me.

"Why don't you come in with me?" I grinned.

"No way!"

"Why not? You said there were water restrictions. So if we share the shower we can both stay in twice as long. And have a water-fight!"

"That's the sort of thing Jonas would suggest!" chuckled David.

"But you wouldn't?"

A vehement shake of the head.

"Why not?"

"Because I feel... awkward about showering when other people are around."

"But there aren't any other people around. You said so yourself."

David laughed shyly.

"I meant I feel awkward about being seen starkers by anyone."

"Even your unit?"

"My unit?"

"Yeah. Like on the A team. You know - the people you'd protect without hesitation. Family... Close mates... People that are important to you."

"Er... well... I guess my parents are part of my unit. And Jonas is my best mate... And I guess I'd protect Serene and Nadia - because Jonas is deeply fond of them... But there's no way I'd shower with any of them!"

"Then you'd definitely better practice showering with me."

"What!?"

"So you won't feel awkward when you marry Serene and she wants to have a water-fight in the shower with you."

David cracked up.

"For real. That's part of being married. Mum and Dad go in the mist room together all the time."

"The mist room?"

"We have water restrictions too. Come on. Hop in with me! So I don't have to get out yet. I could stay in here until the sun rises tomorrow. This is so much fun!"

David stripped off and looked around self consciously.

"Is Kojak Junior likely to check up on us?"

"Not tonight. He's busy helping Grandpa with some calculations."

David grinned coyly as he climbed into the shower with me.

"I can't believe you've talked me into this Andy!" he laughed. "If Jonas ever finds out about this I'll be ragged about it for years..."

Ω

December 22, 2057 20:00 hours

Amani walked in with a tray of coffees and set a mug down in front of her father.

"How are the calculations going? I was just wondering... it's almost been an hour."

David smiled warmly.

"Time to take a break everyone!" he announced, stretching noisily.

Serene and Gem appeared with freshly baked biscuits and blackberries drizzled in goat's milk custard.

"Nana taught me to bake cookies!" said Gem proudly.

"Nana, eh?" ragged Jonas.

Serene cuffed Jonas in response. Jonas tickled her in return. Serene retaliated and they both rolled around on the floor together laughing and giggling. David grinned at their playful exchange. Having their immediate family around them had brought out their frivolous side... And they were both aching to meet Andy... David felt a pang of fear... He had to get Andy back in one piece...

David's attention returned to his daughter. Mani was eyeing her mother in mild disbelief.

"Don't mind their bear hugging!" laughed David. "It's a brother-sister thing."

"I've just never seen this side of Mum," replied Mani softly.

"I wish my big brother was here too," murmured Nadia. "I never saw him again after the Event."

"Come here Nads," whispered David.

He unreservedly embraced Nadia. Nadia drank in the comfort. Surprised by David's out of character demonstrative behaviour towards her.

Mani eyed Leo helplessly. Leo laughed and draped his arm around her.

"Don't mind that big brother hug your dad's giving my mum," he shrugged. "It's a unit thing."

"Do you think Nando needs a big brother hug, wherever he is Dad?" asked Gem.

"I'm sure David is doing a wonderful job of being Nando's big brother," replied Leo gently hugging her.

"Why don't we see what your big brother's up to?" added David, tousling Gem's hair affectionately. "Kojak... Play back the last five minutes of background monitoring footage while we're have desert," he said. "We all want to check up on Andy."

"Are you sure you want me to play the last five minutes David?" hinted Kojak.

"Yes, he's sure Kojak!" smiled Jonas. "We all want to check up on David!"

All round laughter.

"Wouldn't you rather preview the footage alone first David?" repeated Kojak.

"Your seer's trying to hide something from us all!" ragged Jonas.

"You're just jealous 'coz I've worked out a way of remembering what I was doing thirty-five years ago," replied David light-heartedly.

"Let's see what you were doing thirty-five years ago!" retorted Jonas, tapping playback on the monitor, before Kojak had a chance to deactivate it.

Kojak made a groaning sound.

"You've been sprung mate," he sighed.

Ω

Tears of laughter streamed down Jonas's face as he watched Kojak's footage. Serene and Nadia tried to restrain their amusement but gave up. David laughed along with them.

"You were right mate. Kojak was trying to hide something from you all. My bare derrière!"

"And you were right mate! I'm gonna rag you about this for years!" Jonas managed to say.

"Oh David, you look terrified!" chuckled Nadia.

"I think you look sexy!" giggled Serene.

"Showers look like fun!" piped up Gem.

"They are!" laughed Leo.

Mani cupped her hand over her lips and said nothing.

The footage ended.

"Thankyou for that update Kojak," said David nonchalantly. "Let Andy know we're making good progress on the calculations. Although perhaps you'd better let him know when you're sure we're both dressed... I might give you a mouthful otherwise."

"I agree. Did you know your heart rate was 160 beats per minute when you stripped off?"

Jonas burst into a fresh fit of laughter at Kojak's comment.

"My only regret is I didn't find out about this thirty-five years ago!" he complained light-heartedly. "I could have had longer showers during our water shortages."

"I might have a water-fight in the shower with you later honey!" giggled Serene mischievously.

David laughed and kissed her passionately.

He redirected his attention to Amani.

"Daughter... You're rather quiet. Has this peek into the past created another knot in our family tapestry?"

Mani drew a deep breath.

"No Dad. It's made me realize that you're right. Andy's no longer a child. He's a young adult with a flair for bringing out the best in other young adults... And he desires to change history to make the future better for everyone..."

"Just like the rest of his new unit!" added Kojak astutely.

Chapter 6

**Experience is not what happens to a man;**

it is what a man does with what happens to him. -Aldous Huxley

December 23, 2022 05:00 hours

I looked at David's sleeping form and placed the folded farewell note next to Kojak. Then I crept outside and wiped away the tears that were trickling down my cheeks.

"I'm gonna miss him Kojak," I whispered.

"David's still alive Andy. It's true his body is thirty-five years older. But he's still the same larrikin inside. Take my word for it."

"Do you think David will still want to be my mate in the future? In my time? Or will he just think I'm a kid like everyone else does?"

"I'm positive he'll want to be your mate," replied Kojak. "Come on now. You need to get in position behind the crate in the transporter module. I'm afraid you're going to have to sit quiet for almost four hours however. And according to David, some of the things that are about to happen are pretty frightening."

"David coped with them. I will too," I replied, moistening my lips.

Ω

December 23, 2022 05:10 hours.

The sound of a rooster crowing woke David up. He groaned and buried his head deeper into the pillow.

"Come on. Rise and shine... We're country bumpkins today mate!" said Kojak cheerily.

"Sshhh... You'll wake Andy."

"Andy's already awake," replied Kojak softly.

David sat up abruptly and looked around. His eyes fell on the neatly made bed. He drew a deep breath and redirected his attention to Kojak.

"He left a note. It's near my keyboard..."

Ω

Hi David,

Grandpa contacted Kojak Jr and me... We have to be on our way now. Don't be afraid of anything that happens today. I know you'll make it through unscathed. Catch ya in the future.

Love Andy.

Ω

December 23, 2022 05:30 hours.

I looked at Kojak with solemn eyes as I squatted between the crate and the transporter module display.

"Well this is it, Kojak...Get a keepsake photo of us both, eh?"

"Say Cheese!"

Kojak framed my portrait with an image of himself.

"Done."

I pressed him close to my heart.

"Is David absolutely sure you'll survive the Event?" I whispered. "If he's not sure, I can put you in the lead box with Grandpa Kojak."

"He's positive Andy. He's controlling everything remotely from his end. And Jonas and your father have double checked his calculations."

"I trust them... But I might put you under my radiation suit as well. Just in case..."

"Thankyou."

"Hey Kojak... If one of us don't pull through this, I've enjoyed all our explorative playtimes together."

"I'm confident we'll both pull through this, Andy. See ya back in 2057."

I drew a deep breath.

"I'm looking forward to that big brother. Shut down now..."

I held Kojak in my palm tenderly and wistfully watched his capacitor discharge. I carefully placed him in the interior pocket of my radiation suit and zipped it up.

The instant loneliness was almost crushing.

A moment later David walked in... farewelled Kojak and then shut him down as well.

I was overwhelmed by a pang of guilt. I knew David was here, so I knew I wasn't really alone. But David was going through the next three hours... alone.

Crazy fools. How dare they call themselves scientists! Why couldn't they realize what they were going to do was going to almost annihilate the human race?

Time passed.

The earth grumbled her protest... Something pelted on the roof of the sea container. I pushed away my fear as smoke permeated the container... I watched David push wet rags into the gaps under the door...The heat was stifling. David guzzled a litre of water. I wished I'd planned better myself...

Time passed.

The earth violently heaved and buckled beneath us... David was ashen-faced. I so badly wanted to comfort him, but Kojak had told me to stay hidden. History was coming alive in front of my eyes... The difference was, I knew the ending and knew we would make it... Whereas David was probably fighting off a million negative thoughts and fears.

It had been two agonizing hours since I'd last spoken with Kojak. The noise on the roof of the container was deafening. Right now in populated areas around the world, I knew BE houses, schools and shops were catching alight as meteorites struck flammable material. People were terrified. People were dying. And yet history recorded that Rick Dawk and his team hadn't stopped their experiment. In spite of the frantic news reports of the mass destruction around them...

The sea container began jolting violently from side to side now... I licked my lips nervously as I clung onto the side of the crate. I was starting to feel really bruised. To my immense relief a bottle of water rolled towards me. I grabbed it and guzzled it with relish.

Time passed.

Everything was weirdly still. Like the calm before the storm... David munched on an apple. I wet my tongue with the remaining drips of water from the empty bottle.

45 degrees of north... The container flipped over. BE north became AE south. Everything that wasn't bolted or braced down hung momentarily in the air - floating without gravity, then violently dead-dropped down again. I let out an involuntarily scream of terror as I lost my grip on the crate. I watched David turn around... his eyes wide with fear as he looked around for the source of the scream... There was a deafening explosion. I buried my face in my lap as David's monitoring instruments exploded around us. I raised my head again and looked around. The sound of electricity crackled and arced around me ... my skin and hair tingled... A plasma ball danced lazily toward me... My eyes followed it. Captivated by the unexpected... It grew larger and a bubble inexplicably started forming around me...

I became aware of an intense rippling around me as the plasma ball engulfed me. David and the contents of the sea container seemed to be shimmering... Like they were a mirage...

David was peering directly at me now... his fascination gave way to terror as the plasma ball energized his unfinished transporter module... I squinted as a brilliant bioluminescent violet light filled the module... the purple light rippled and became blue... then shimmering aquamarine flowed out... followed by a rippling yellow, which gave way to orange... then red... I finally remembered the penguin eye glasses in my pocket and quickly positioned them over my eyes.

The expression on David's face was unforgettable as I looked in his direction. Apprehension... bewilderment... seasoned with a hint of awe. He tried to say something to me but gave up. I grinned my farewell as a beam of light enveloped me and separated my place on the time continuum from his...

Life on planet Earth would never be the same again. In his time or in mine...

Ω

December 23, 2057 09:02 hours.

A sea of faces rippled around me. Dad's and Mum's expressionless faces... Gem's curious face... David and Serene's tense expressions... And two other older people I'd never met - they peered in my direction - expectant and trusting. I clung to the crate like it was a life preserver as the rippling gradually settled down.

"You pulled it off, you son of a gun!" yelled the unknown dark-skinned man, exuberantly congratulating David. "Our grandson's back safe. And the press is too!"

Our grandson?

"Let's be sure first," replied David solemnly. "Andy... Do you recognize me?"

"Course I do. It's just I don't know whether to call you David or Grandpa."

David broke into a huge grin and bear-hugged me. Undisguised relief dancing in his eyes.

"I answer to David mate!" he replied.

"Andy?! Are you sure you're alright?" burst out Mum, draping her arms around me and squeezing me tightly.

Andy? Huh? What happened to Nando?

Oh well... she wasn't screaming Ferdinand so at least I wasn't in too much trouble.

"'Course I'm alright Mum. There's nothing to hurt me around here!" I replied with a grin.

"Well this takes me back thirty-five years!" said another woman's voice.

Her lilt was just as I remembered it.

"Serene!" I laughed, hugging her warmly. "Or should I call you Grandma?"

"I am definitely not answering to Grandma!" retorted Serene.

All round laughter.

The dark-skinned man unexpectedly scooped me up and swung me around above his head.

"What are you doing Jonas Magellan?" I laughed.

"Just making sure you're real, Andy Magellan!" replied Jonas.

He pressed me tightly into his chest. Heart to heart. There were tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

"Why?" I smiled.

"Well... Thirty five years ago David told me about this thin refugee in silver clothes that had somehow disappeared from his locked sea container with my rescued Christmas present during the Event... He was convinced it had something to do with his unfinished research project. I didn't believe him when he told me all about it. I thought it was just some type of traumatic response to the Event."

"Nah... I'm real. So is your Christmas present from Nadia. Sorry it's thirty-five years late Jonas."

"It doesn't matter. It'll last thirty-five years longer won't it?" retorted Jonas.

"And our first acre of canola will be ready to harvest after Christmas!" added Nadia. "It's perfect timing. Extracting it was going to be such a time consuming job... But with the press on hand \- we'll be able to extract thousands of acres and supply it to Zone 1 residents to trial."

"It's what we've always dreamed of doing, but we shouldn't make any plans until we're sure the press is functional. It may have been damaged in transit," cautioned David.

"You just want to open my present early!" joked Jonas.

"I think Andy should open it!" smiled Nadia. "He brought it back."

"I think Gem should open it," I countered. "She's the youngest."

Gem eyed me and shook her head.

"Nah... It looks too hard to unwrap. Let's let the adults open it. I've got to show you what I found in the garden."

"What did ya find?" I asked with shining eyes.

"I found the shower you were having fun in with Grandpa last night. Wanna have a water-fight with me too?"

"I sure do!" I laughed.

"This is the best family holiday ever!" exclaimed Gem, as we ran off together.

I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.

-Thomas Jefferson

December 23, 2057 18:00 hours.

Frogs croaked... Unfamiliar smells wafted around inside the sea-container homestead. The original single room container-home I had slept in back in 2022 was still part of the sprawling twelve-container homestead in present day 2057.

I crept down the garden path and stood near the oversized hammock David was lying in.

Silence.

"Am I bothering you?" I asked cautiously.

"Of course not," he smiled. "Why don't you join me?"

I hopped into the hammock next to him. We both lay back looking up at the stars.

"I wanted to say sorry," I began nervously.

"Whatever for Andy?"

"I'm sorry I left you without saying goodbye," I whispered. "And you would have been less afraid if we'd gone through the Event together... And Kojak said I frightened you when I disappeared in the transporter module too... Everything considered, I don't think I've been a very good mate."

David laughed and pulled me onto his chest and hugged me tightly. It felt good. Someone else plonked themselves down in the hammock next to us.

Jonas.

It felt doubly good, albeit strange. All my life I had wanted a Grandpa, and now I had two!

"How's our new little mate fairing?" asked Jonas.

"He's in a better state than I was twelve hours after the Event."

Jonas looked reflective.

"It's almost unfathomable... To Andy the Event happened this morning. To us it was thirty-five years ago... And time has healed the memories..."

"Well I've been waiting for this day for thirty-five years," replied David emotionally. "Finding out that the first test pilot to use my transporter module survived after disappearing in front of my eyes is the best Christmas present I could ever ask for. It's like a huge weight has lifted off my shoulders."

Jonas started grinning.

"Something's happening to you David... Serene and Nadia have noticed it too... It's like the David we all knew before the Event is back."

"Well you're gonna have to help me keep the overgrown teenager in line if he is," joked Kojak from my pendant.

David and Jonas laughed heartily.

"Talking of Christmas presents and huge weights, is the oil press okay?" I asked.

"Yes. We tried it... It's in perfect working order," replied Jonas.

"Hmmm... Not a bad first trip... I left hoping to come back with a book about fuel oil production and came back with a press for producing fuel oil."

Jonas smiled broadly.

"Not a bad first test flight of the transporter either... I set out to see if it could handle a lightweight payload and it handled a 1000kg press. Just imagine how many BE books and heirloom seeds I can bring back next trip!"

"What next trip?!" growled a voice out of the darkness.

"Um... Hi dad," I said self consciously.

"Please tell me you're not planning on making that next trip in the near future, Andy."

"Well... not in the near future... Serene and Nadia are teaching mum and Gem how to make blueberry pie and mulberry cordial and lemon butter for Christmas. So I'm definitely not going anywhere until after Christmas!"

Dad chuckled warmly. Something had changed between us. He was treating me differently. Perhaps because something had changed inside him. I had a hunch the change inside him had to do with finding Jonas and Nadia... Somehow finding his missing unit had liberated him...

"Care to join us son?" invited Jonas.

"Can that hammock hold four fellas?"

"Yep. It's made of Kevlar. So it's robust. Like our young explorer's footwear."

Dad laughed and sank into the hammock next to his father. Jonas grinned at him and draped his arms around us both.

"You'll have to take more of David's gadgets with you next trip," he said, eyeing me.

"What gadgets?" I asked.

"David's always inventing gadgets. Personally I like his cats-eyes sunnies."

"Don't you mean penguin eyes sunnies?" I smiled.

"Nah. He means cats-eyes sunnies," replied David. "They're an improvement on that early penguin eye version of mine which you took with you. They still work as penguin eye sunnies by day. But they dramatically improve the wearer's night vision when the sun sets. I was thinking of test driving them in the New South Pole actually, now my transporter module's working."

"Why at the New South Pole?" asked Leo.

"Well, before the Event there was a bank - with a storage vault built into a mountain on a group of islands called Svalbard."

"You're thinking of going on a treasure hunt?" laughed Dad.

"Yes. Although actually the vault contained something more precious than regular treasure like gold and jewels... it contained heirloom seeds - like wheat which had been grown in the Tajikistan region for 2000 years. And an heirloom variety of barley from Poland. And amaranth from Ecuador. Along with 750,000 samples of other seeds from the BE world."

"You mean it contained seeds from countries that were wiped out by the Event?" I asked with excitement.

"Yes. Although no one knows if the seed bank's survived."

"Was it the same seed bank where your parents were going to take the seeds from Arnhem Land to?"

"Ah ha."

"Maybe they found the seed bank after the Event," I ventured. "Just imagine... My great grandparents might be still alive and living in the New South Pole region preserving the former Svalbard seed bank."

David smiled wistfully.

"I think that might be wishful thinking Andy. I never heard from my parents again after the Event."

"Have you ever asked Kojak if they were alive?" I asked.

"Er, well... No, I don't think I have!" chuckled David. "But Kojak has no way of knowing anyway. The world wide web has never been restored, so there is no contact between the northern and southern hemispheres."

"What about the HF?" I persisted.

"Well I admit I've tried unsuccessfully to raise them a number of times over the years, when HF pole to pole communication was possible. Generally after I'd had a squabble with Jonas's sister."

"You've got another sister?" I asked, looking at Jonas.

"Nah. Serene is my sister when David's in her bad books!" quipped Jonas.

"And Jonas is my friend when he's in Nadia's bad books!" added David. "It's the way we keep things peaceful in our unit."

"So next time Mum's in my bad books she's your daughter, right?" I asked hopefully.

David and Jonas roared with laughter. Dad went to growl at me but ended up laughing along with them.

"But Great Grandpa might be alive still," I ventured, when they had stopped laughing. "Dad and I had never heard from any of you when Zone 1 to Zone 5 communications were possible, but you were all alive and well. And Bear Grylls, Les Higgins and Indiana Jones wouldn't let something like the Event stop them, so I don't reckon Great Grandpa would either."

David chuckled heartily.

"You could be right mate. But old age stops everyone eventually. And even if my parents had somehow survived the Event they'd be close to 80 by now."

"Then it's about time we dropped in and said hi to them! Let's go find out if your parents survived and the seed bank survived. And Nadia's brother survived! Together..."

Ω

Ferdinand Magellan made history when he explored the seas. And Ferdinand Magellan II and his big brother Kojak changed history when they explored the time continuum.

Their adventures continue in History Changers: Expedition 2032

WANT TO LEARN MORE???

Electric vehicles

Video – Tesla EV vs Ferrari

Video - Who killed the electric car?

Alternative fuels

Algae fuel Also  here and here

 Rudolf Diesel

 All about home-made biodiesel

Biomimicry

 Smart clothes

Self-repairing solar cells and  here

Permaculture and heirloom seeds

 Norway's seed bank

Diggers Seeds

The Myth of Adolescence

 Challenging the myth

Sea container architecture

Links to photos of sea container buildings

The earth's decaying magnetic field

 Implications

How to wreck the environment

Video - Mercury in energy saving bulbs

 Weather modification and E/M weapons

The Greek word harpazō means to be _plucked up, seized, or caught away_. See Acts 8:39

Ω

Other ebooks in the Rebelutionaries series

**(for teens and young adults)**

The Rebelutionaries series is a Christian fiction series for teens and Y/A's with heaps of miscellany. Characters in the coming of age adventure series have conversations with each other about common teen interest areas e.g. origins-of-life, creation vs evolution, sex, relationship issues, leadership, military service , self esteem, anorexia, environmental issues, alternative fuels, seed-saving, conspiracy theories, TEOTWAWKI predictions, survival principles, weather modification, sci-fi and generally anything controversial that engages or inspires young thinkers.

If you enjoyed History Changers - there are other ebooks in the series planned so keep an eye on Smashwords or on my blog here.

In the meantime you may enjoy these other titles by Beau in the Rebelutionaries series - for older teens and young adults - Note:

All Beau Cornerstone fiction titles are available on a

whatever you can afford basis.

If you can't afford to buy the ebooks below but want to read them,

then go to my blog here and download a voucher so you can get them **50% off** or **free.**

The Rebelutionaries Series: Book 1: The Weathermakers

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act

**-** _George Orwell_ _._

Tonight's six o'clock news headlines. Fear of global warming, UFO's, and an apocalypse in 2012 have gripped the world. But what if these crises were all manufactured? And E/M technology was being misused to create an illusion of climate change, alien invasions and provoke fear of the end of the age? What would you do if you were a scientist or a journalist and you wanted to expose the greatest hoax on earth?

Jake, Zac and Maya are three strangers destined to become close friends. Jake Lewis is an awkward teenage prodigy who's mega-timid of women and tries to hide the fact that he's brilliant. He's going to the remote north-eastern Goldfields to participate in a geophysics workshop. Or so he thinks.

Professor Zac Canney has a passion for mentoring young scientists... answering teenagers' questions about everything from sex to the origins of life. Zac has entered Western Australia from the U.S with a suitcase full of e/m weapon components. And he's heading for the same outback region to try and prevent a catastrophe.

Maya Gregory is a vivacious photo journalist with a flair for sniffing out stories. She's been sent to Laverton to cover a non-descript earthquake. Instead she'll find a tangled web of deceit and a handful of people intent on saving the world. Falling in alongside them will change the course of her life. And theirs...

Paula Vince writes: _"the timely message of the Weathermakers and its unique presentation is unlike anything I've come across before... spiritual and metaphysical theories are woven together beautifully and brought into dialogue in natural and fascinating ways... I love the choice of quotes at the beginning of each chapter and all through the story. Excellent tension in the events at the end with a satisfying finish all round... at times I felt the story read like an interesting film script with its frequent and fluid movement from one scene to the next... I enjoyed the multi-layered relationships through the story, particularly Zac's wise and relaxed dealings with the four young men under his leadership."_

The Weathermakers is set in contemporary Australia and has references to recent events worldwide and predicted future events. it is the first book in a series which encourages teenagers and young adults to be rebelutionaries - to rebel against society's low expectations of them, to attempt hard things and be leaders and planet-shapers.

Two hundred years ago it was the norm for young adults of twelve to be sea captains in command of their own ships and for fourteen year olds to lead armies into battle, run family businesses or the family farm. Today's zeitgeist limits young people and promotes the idea that doomsday is imminent. The media and hollywood link catastrophic events to climate change. Events like those in January 2011 - when flocks of dead birds and schools of dead fish were washed up world-wide - are sensationalized.

The series offers an alternative perspective on such events. A trail of hints and facts are left for interested readers to follow up on. For instance Gordon MacDonald really did write an article entitled, "how to wreck the environment". He described in detail how the military misuse of e/m technology was associated with sightings of fireballs; flocks of dead birds; schools of dead fish; unusual localized weather patterns; earth-tremors; failed electronics and UFO-like lights. The residents of Laverton really did experience an earthquake which was preceded by a lingering fireball during the 1990's when "anti-desertification" research was being undertaken. And it really did snow there in November, when temperatures of 37 degrees Celsius were the norm.

**Wise as serpents; harmless as doves**. Hitler once said, " _the masses will more easily fall victim to a big lie than a small one."_ This series is penned to prevent Rebelutionaries falling victim to any lies - big or small.

Ω

Continuation of the adventures in _The Weathermakers_

The Rebelutionaries Series: Book 2 The Codetalkers

**Nobody can go back and start a new beginning.**

**but anyone can start today and make a new ending** **-Maria Robinson**

Will Zac, Maya and Jake foil The Weathermakers plan to fire two E/M weapons from a U.S warship? Life is full of surprises, awkward moments and growth for our intrepid trio in this second book in the **Rebelutionaries** series for older teens and Y/A's. Dangling from a chopper... hiking on a grueling military trek... disarming the bad guys... discovering mind-blowing secrets about the ISRA... life is action packed when you're on Gordon's payroll.

**Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him -** _Aldous Huxley_

_The Codetalkers_ introduces new teenagers to the series. Captain Ryan Adams is fresh out of the air force officer training academy. He's the country's top graduate and he expected to be deployed overseas. However instead he's been assigned to Farliga Pass - a wilderness training camp in the heart of Yellowstone National Park. Ryan's uncomfortable about his first post as an officer. Most of the personnel up at Farliga Pass are old timers. And Ryan has reason to hate old timers...

**Success is having the courage to meet failure without being defeated** _-Wilfred Peterson_

Hope Canney's family think she's plodding through an undergraduate degree in journalism. But Hope's been living a double life since starting college. She's already a renowned investigative journalist who's won multiple awards as Heidi cannikin. Her cutting edge stories stem from shadowing her brother Zac's activities. Normally it's not risky. But this time her life is on the line. Unable to contact Zac, she heads for a safehouse he's told her about... Her decision will have far reaching ramifications for both of them.

**Adversity causes some men to break, and others to break records -** _William Arthur Ward_

Ryan and Hope don't ever get to meet each other in _The Codetalkers_ but they have a lot in common. Both are pretending to be older than they really are. Both are rebelutionaries - they've chosen to rebel against society's low expectations of teenagers and excel in their chosen fields. Both end up feeling they're out of their depth. And they both look up to Zac.

**Change is inevitable. Growth is intentional** _-Colin Wilson_

The young adults in _The Codetalkers_ toss around ideas about what makes a great leader. They continue to learn to let go of the past and bridge the gap with the older generation... And they experience personal growth as they chat about issues like sex, menstruation, childbirth, involuntary erections, honeymoon jitters, anorexia and body image... By the way, if you're squirming a little after reading that last sentence, Zac gets red cheeked too!

Only the vigilant can maintain their liberties. A society whose members spend a great deal of their time in the irrelevant other worlds of sport and soap opera, mythology and metaphysical fantasy, will find it hard to resist the encroachments of those who would manipulate and control it -

Aldous Huxley

_The Codetalkers_ is set in contemporary Australia and the U.S. and has references to recent events worldwide and predicted future events. It is the second book in a series which encourages teens and young adults to rebel against society's low expectations of them, to attempt hard things and be leaders and planet-shapers.

Ω

What's a Rebelutionary anyway?

Visit my blog here to find out!

