The Time Bubble Box Set 2, стр. 18
The only question now was who should attempt the firstjourney, something the four of them were now eagerly debating in Josh and Alice’slab.
“I think I should do it,” suggested Henry. “I’ve already gotsignificant experience in mind transference so I’m the obvious choice.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t see it that way,” countered Josh.“You may have extensive experience of having your mind copied into an androidbody, but you’re completely unfamiliar with the intricate nature of timetravel.”
“I would have if you let me have a go with thattachyometer,” replied Henry, looking enviously at the device which wascurrently plugged into an elaborate new computer panel that now covered half ofthe lab wall.
Much of Henry and Vanessa’s equipment had been transportedup from Australia for this occasion, including the couches upon which they hadseen Henry’s mind copied on their first visit there. The lab at Oxford was alot smaller than the one in Canberra and they could barely move for all theequipment that had been squeezed in.
“We’ve talked about this, Henry,” replied Josh. “I can’tjust allow anyone to go off with one of these.”
“I’m hardly just anyone, am I?”
“Nonetheless, there are way too many potential pitfalls andI should know! I’m the only one with the experience to handle this.”
“That’s exactly the reason why you ought not to do it. Weneed to know if it’s something someone who hasn’t got that experience canhandle,” said Henry.
“I think you should let him trial it,” said Alice.
She knew this was a risky trial and the last thing shewanted was something going wrong. Josh had finally come clean about how long hehad been lost in the past after Hannah had brought it up that night in the pub.She certainly didn’t want anything like that happening again.
“Yes, let Henry do it,” insisted Vanessa, enthusiastically,who was also aware of the risks and seemed to be almost relishing it.
“Alright. It’s a tenuous argument but you can go first,”said Josh, reluctantly. “But let’s not attempt anything too ambitious, OK? Isuggest a short jump, no more than a few hours, just to check that it works.”
“Why don’t you send him back to when we were having lunchearlier?” suggested Alice.
“Ooh yes, that rare roast beef sandwich was gorgeous,”remarked Henry. “I could just eat that again.”
“Try not to eat so much like a pig this time,” scoldedVanessa. “You’ve dropped horseradish sauce all down the front of your shirt.”
“Have I?” said Henry, completely unaware, and he looked downto see a prominent white stain marring the otherwise perfect image of theHawaiian sunset.
“That’s settled, then,” said Josh. “And if he’s successful,I’ll try a longer trip further into the past tomorrow.”
“Right, let’s get this organised,” said Henry. “It’s 2.30pmnow and we went to lunch around midday. That means we must have been in the pubby about 12:15 so how about I aim to project my mind into my earlier self ataround 12.20?”
“And how long are you going to stay for?” asked Josh.
“About half an hour, I would say. That’ll give me a chanceto eat my sandwich. I might have some chips as well this time, since I won’t bebringing the calories back with me.”
“Remember that, although it will be half an hour for you inthe past, no time at all will pass here,” replied Alice.
“I’m glad about that as we won’t have to stand aroundtwiddling our thumbs waiting to see if it works,” said Vanessa.
“Now remember what we discussed before,” said Josh. “Whenyou go back you will be creating a new universe and it’s vitally important thatyou don’t let on to the three of us in that universe what you are doing. Youmight alter our timelines over there.”
“Does it even matter?” said Henry. “It’s not our universe,after all. Perhaps I’ll be able to help them by reassuring them that thisworks.”
“That’s absolutely what you must not do. I thought youunderstood all this. You must try and act and speak exactly as you did before.Even seemingly insignificant changes can alter things drastically. I’vetravelled through the multiverse enough times to experience the consequences ofthis and sometimes it’s not pretty, believe me.”
“Right you are,” said Henry, casually, leaving Josh stillnot convinced he was taking this as seriously as he should.
“Let’s get started,” added Henry and he moved over to thecouch and laid down.
As he did so, Alice began to summarise what they were doingfor their records.
“Maisie, begin recording and add date and time stamp. Thisis our first attempt at transporting a human mind back through time. We areabout to take a copy of Henry Jones’s consciousness and send it via thetachyometer back into his brain at precisely 12.20pm this afternoon in a newlygenerated universe.”
Maisie was the name of the supercomputer that Josh and Alicehad installed in their lab, courtesy of funding from Vanessa. It was namedafter a pet mouse she and Josh had once had who had become the world’s first,and possibly only, time-travelling rodent.
“Can you just clarify something for me?” asked Vanessa.“What will happen to his existing consciousness in the original host brain?”
“We believe the two will merge,” said Josh. “The new versionwhich we send back will take precedence, but all his original memories shouldremain intact.”
“And at the end? When his mind returns?”
“When we bring him back to our universe, we will takeanother copy. The self we leave in the other universe will remember everythingthat happened but there is no way around that. We can’t extract the wholeconsciousness and return it here otherwise we’d just leave an empty shellbehind.”
“I still think all this sounds extremely risky,” said Alice.
“It will be fine,” insisted Josh. “Haven’t we always beensuccessful before? You’ve seen yourself that all the computer simulationsworked perfectly. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“He dies?” suggested Alice.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t mind sacrificing yourself in theinterest of scientific advancement, would you, Henry?” teased Vanessa.
“Oh, you’d love that, wouldn’t you?” replied Henry. “Is thatwhy you didn’t say anything when Josh volunteered? You’d rather be rid of me? Ididn’t see you putting your hand up either, come to that.”
“Of course not, my sweet,” replied Vanessa, condescendingly.“It’s just my little