The Clock

By CE Stewart

The Clock is a science fiction adventure. John Koch, a scientist working on a secret project connected to Area 51, received an ancient Egyptian clock from his grandparents that opens the door to aliens, other worlds, time travel and trips on the starship SS-1. Characters include Queen Isis Nefertiti, her husband, Amenhotep IV, and a very human-like robot.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CE Stewart
• Release date: Jun 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781604143836

CE Stewart

CE Stewart was born in 1925. Upon retirement, he and his wife traveled in a fifth wheel trailer for five years. It was here that he began to write.His first novel was “Terrorist Within.” He followed with two science fiction titles: “Chronicles of Navigator-The Homecoming” and, “Chronicles of Navigator- Earth Again.” He has just completed “The Clock.” He loves science fiction and life.

Book preview

Chapter 1

As John Koch entered the elevator at his quarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and went to the 11th floor, he was in deep thought. It had been another day of dead-end problems at his job. He was very tired after the frustration of the work and the plane ride from Area 51 in Nevada. He had been at the site most of the week, and every day had seen unanswered problems. He was on the verge of a burn out. He had seen several scientists succumb to that problem in the last two years.

He was on a secret Government project at Sandia Laboratories. The actual testing of the project was being done at Area 51 in Nevada. It was a very confidential project, and had generated many stories about what it was. There were just a handful of persons who knew the truth, and John Koch was one of the scientists that had been recruited for the project. He was second in command, and his good friend of many years, Tom Kincaid, was the lead scientist.

The team was flown to Area 51 on Monday, and returned to Sandia Labs on Thursday to do the paper work and follow up experiments. Friday was devoted to meetings to aid the preparation for next Monday's trip to Area 51.

There were 24 scientists who were commuting, and a great deal of planning and execution went into the secret project. The team was not allowed to discuss anything about their work, not even to their families. They were carrying secrets that could affect the entire world and the universe. On this note John entered his apartment to think about the week. He did not know the depth of the past weeks problems as of yet.

He poured a shot of Ruby Red Port, and turned the news on. He was only half listening to the news commentator as he sipped his drink. His mind was on the problems that had occurred that week. Suddenly the huge clock in the corner started to toll the hour. It had not done that since he had received it over a month ago. He hadn't had the time to start the clock. It had belonged to his grandfather, George Koch, who had raised him along with his grandmother, Mary Koch.

Most of his time had been spent with his grandmother, as George was a scientist studying ancient Egypt and the pyramids. The clock had been acquired in Egypt, and then shipped to the home in Albuquerque. When George was home, he spent many hours restoring the clock. There was no history on the clock, as he had bought it from a member of the Egyptians that worked for him. George Koch was the only person to work on restoring the clock. No one else had any interest in it. Mary allowed it to be in the home only because George loved it. They were both killed in an airplane crash just a year later.

John could not bear to sell the home until just a short time ago. His apartment was very large and roomy, and he had hardly any furniture, so he moved most of the furnishings from the home to his new apartment. He put the home on the market, and had just closed on it a week ago. This was also contributing to his mood. At this point, he got up to investigate the clock tolling the time. He would be the most surprised person in the city.

As he approached the clock, he saw that the pendulum was active, and the clock was ticking with the right time displayed on the gigantic face. At this point, John suddenly became aware of what was going on, and hurried to the front of the clock. Everything was normal, except John knew that he had not activated the clock. The winding weights were in the same position that they had been. The clock had the most beautiful sound when it chimed that John had ever heard.

At this point, John felt that he was experiencing a nervous breakdown. However, he knew that wasn't true, so he decided to have another glass of Port. He usually never had a second glass, but this was a good reason.

While he sipped the drink, he studied the clock. Everything appeared to be normal, but there was no doubt that it wasn't. He sat back down and vowed to examine the clock over the weekend. To regain his sanity, he went to the nearest restaurant. After a good meal, he returned home and looked at the clock. It was still running and keeping perfect time. There had to be a plausible answer to this surprise, so John sat in his grandfather's favorite chair and thought about the clock mystery. He made some notes, then went to bed. He had some time to solve the mystery.

Chapter 2

He arose early, as was his custom after a good night's sleep. He had learned a long time ago not to take a problem to bed to worry about. In reality, he didn't feel that this was a problem. Rather he looked at it as a solution, as his grandfather had often said. He was lucky to have a grandfather that was so wise.

His mother had died in childbirth, and his father, a career Air Force colonel, was out of the country most of the time, except for leave time. He died in a crash when John was barely a year old. He was adopted at birth by his grandparents, and never knew his parents. Even though he traveled a lot, when his grandfather was home, he spent a lot of time with John. They were quite close as the years went by.

At this point, his stomach told him that it was time to go to the restaurant and eat. He always went to the same place, as the food was excellent and the waitresses were pretty. After a great breakfast and some lively banter with the waitress, he returned to his apartment to inspect the clock further. He was looking forward to what he thought was an easy task. How wrong he would be!

Arriving at the apartment, John went to the drawing room and the clock. He sat and studied the huge clock for a time. It measured 10 feet tall and was 8 feet wide at the base tapering to 6 feet wide at the top. The clock face was 4 feet in diameter and had bold numerals jutting out from the face 1 inch high. The hands were in the shape of a lightening bolt, and as they passed a numeral, an electrical discharge could be seen passing to the numeral. This had not been happening when John set the clock in its corner, and it wasn’t running either. He approached the problem as a scientist. He sat and made some notes.

After a time of note taking, he moved the clock out of the corner, so that he could get behind it with some light. This showed everything encased in fine woodworking with beautiful wood. No small wonder his grandfather had bought the clock, he thought. He ran his hands over the fine finish, and felt a line at the base of the clock. Feeling carefully, he found another line. He pushed where the lines met, and a small drawer popped out revealing a note pad.

He removed the pad, and on the first page it read, Do not read further until you insert the disk in your computer. John took the disk that was under the note pad and inserted it into his computer. He was at loss as to what password to use, then he settled on the word, clock. This activated the disk, and a long message began to tell the secret of the clock.

He became quite excited at this point. It would be an exciting weekend for John Koch. It would change his life completely.

The message began:

"Dear John, I am writing this message to explain the marvelous clock that I have left you. It will be the most valuable item that you will ever own. I will not be alive to aid you in following the trail of the clock. Your folks and grandmother and I will meet you at another time. I will explain this later in the message.

"As you know, I purchased the clock in Cairo, Egypt, a year ago. A good Egyptian friend led me to a merchant that he knew, and I viewed the clock in the merchant's home. It had never been for sale. The merchant had a friend who was involved in researching tombs. They had found the clock in a tomb that hadn't been discovered before.

The clock wasn't considered to be worth anything, so they made off with it in the dead of night. The merchant didn't try to get the clock running, and it had stood for many years in his home covered with a beautiful tapestry.

I should have notified the authorities about the clock, but it would have gotten my friend in trouble. So I had it crated and shipped home. I have been working on restoring it for quite a while, whenever I had time from my work. I have been deciphering the instructions that were on the pad in the drawer. As you will note, the material of the pad is strange, but the message was clear in a very ancient tongue. Most of the time I spent was in the deciphering of the message, as the condition of the clock was as if it had just been built. I was amazed."

At this point, John began to copy the disk, as he didn't want to lose anything in this very important translation. He also decided that he needed to eat lunch. So he sent out for food and continued his research. After he had eaten, he resumed his work on the disk. The message continued:

The clock seems to start running whenever someone that it trusts becomes the owner. It had never run for the merchant. There are pressure points at the base that will be described in a picture that will appear on the disk, showing how to get into the back of the clock. I was able to get far enough into the clock to find a screen. Apparently, I never had enough time to activate the screen before my death. This will be your first task. Do not change the order.

Chapter 3

Apparently the last order on the disk meant what it said. John would follow the instructions to the letter, as his grandfather knew he would. Not following the correct order could mean ruining the experiment. John wondered about the disk, and the fact that it was different than any disks John had seen. Yet it worked in John's computer with no problems.

The material that the disk was constructed from appeared to be quartz. To test it would ruin its contents, and John wasn't about to do that. At this point the disk portrayed a diagram showing the steps to open the back of the clock. It stated that if the steps weren't followed, the clock would defend itself. What that meant, John could only guess at. He was sure that it would mean death to the intruder, so he followed the instructions carefully.

At the final step, the back swung open silently and revealed a large screen. As John stood in front of the screen, it lit up and more instructions appeared. There were several buttons on the side panel of the screen. John was advised by another message to carefully study them. He made notes and pushed one that was marked with a close sign. He felt that he needed to study the control panel before proceeding further. The back of the clock waited till he had backed out of the enclosure before closing. He definitely needed to study further.

It was the evening hour, and John was tired and hungry, so he took one last look at the clock before turning the lights off. It was still running with perfect time, and just the tick-tock of the mechanism. It was a stately old clock. John showered, shaved, and proceeded to his favorite restaurant. After a great steak and all the trimmings, he returned to the apartment. He sat in the chair of his grandfather, and, with a glass of port, he contemplated the day's events, and the effect that they were having on his life. He didn't know that this was just the beginning of a whole new adventure. He was in the midst of thought when his doorbell rang. It was his close friend and director of the area 51 where they both worked. This was very unusual for Tom Kincaid to come unannounced at this time of night. He looked tired, and John poured him a drink before they began to talk. Tom spoke, I have just come from a meeting at area 51 that was visited by the President and several cabinet members. They were on an inspection tour, but the President and his Chief of Staff had a private meeting with me. I am to choose one person to help me with a project that is the top of the heap in hush-hush. I thought of you at once, as we have worked together many times and we each know what the other one thinks at all times. Please bear with me for the next few minutes, as they will change our lives completely.

On this note Tom took another drink and began again. Last week, the President of the United States was in a secret meeting with an Alien from another planet. That will get your immediate attention. This Alien was carrying a message from his Supreme Council. It was actually a very grim warning, and a request for help. The Alien world is in great danger from another warlike planet that intends to invade our world as well. Sounds like science fiction, doesn't it? The truth is even more fascinating than that, as it involves a time warp, too. We will meet with the President tomorrow at the base in Colorado Springs. We will catch a military plane early tomorrow morning. So do I have a helper on this project or not? Anything we talk about is extremely confidential, so what is your answer? John didn't think twice about the offer. This was his life, and he had no family left to worry about. He spoke, Yes, I will join forces with you. John didn't mention anything about the clock. That was his private experience for now.

Chapter 4

Early, the next morning John and Tom met at the airport and boarded a military jet. They were alone at the field at that time of morning, except for some military traffic. A short time later, the plane touched down at Colorado Springs. There was another aircraft there, and it was Air Force One.

Several armed guards were around the plane as the door opened and a Colonel approached. He spoke, I am Colonel Potter. I am special aide to the President. Please come with me. He turned and went back up the steps to the plane. When they arrived at the top, the door opened and a security detail checked John and Tom over very carefully. Then Colonel Potter escorted them to the rear of the plane, which happened to be the private office of the President. A voice answered the Colonel's knock with a command to enter.

As they entered, the President rose and extended his hand to the two men and said, I am glad that you could come on such short notice. We have a very bad situation on our hands. It will be extremely hard for you to believe what you will hear in the next few minutes. However, I have looked over your records and you are probably the only two qualified for this project. Time and secrecy are the two most important items that we must watch closely. Now please meet our guest, and do not be surprised at what you see and hear.

At this point a door opened at the rear of the office, and a figure entered and turned to John and Tom, holding its hand up in a greeting sign. The two men were awe struck, but quickly recovered their composure and held their hands up in the greeting. The stranger apparently was the Alien that Tom had mentioned to John the night before. The Alien was about 5 feet tall; light gray skinned, and had long fingers and a large head with purple eyes and a small mouth and ears. There was no hair on its head. It was clothed in a military uniform of some type. It was apparently of high rank, evidenced by the insignia. It spoke, I am General Wok from the planet M in the Andromeda constellation. We are contacting Earth in the hopes that we can get some assistance in saving our planet from an invader. We are very advanced, but so is our enemy. I arrived by a space ship that I have hidden in the mountains outside of this city. We have observed you for many years, and feel that you are the only country on Earth that can help us. It may involve using some new technology that your two scientists are working with at this time. It might involve your planet being attacked by our enemy. However, if you don't help us, this enemy will invade Earth in time. They are on a conquest of the Milky Way Galaxy after Andromeda, so, you can see why I am here. We have made many trips to Earth over the years, and have had some crash landings. I am sure that these two men know a little bit about those incidents. I will turn this conversation over to your gracious President at this point.

The President began, I feel that we need to assist General Wok in his fight with the Alien invaders of Andromeda. He has convinced me that he speaks the truth about the invasion force. So I am ordering both of you to return to your jobs at Area 51, and I will contact you with further orders. It will be about 10 more days before we get everything in place at the Defense Department to begin this work. In the meantime, General Wok will return to planet M to oversee its defense. At this point, everyone departed from Air Force 1. General Wok got into a staff car from the base and disappeared. John and Tom boarded the military jet that they came in, and returned to Albuquerque. They didn't talk all the way back, as they were too surprised at what they had seen and heard.

When they arrived at John's apartment, Tom said, I will discuss this with you at Area 51 on Monday.

John nodded and spoke, We need to think about today before we have a discussion. I am at a loss for thoughts at this time. On this note, they parted company each lost in his own private thoughts.

John went to the drawing room and the company of the clock. He poured a good shot of Port wine and sat in his grandfather's chair and stared at the clock. It seemed to be trying to send a message of some sort to him. He studied the face and the small electrical discharges that were happening every time the hands passed a numeral. Something was being activated within the clock, but what was it? John had to find out. He would research it the next day. He was tired from the trip, and the next day was Sunday. He would be alone, and would have time to check the clock some more. On that note, he went to bed and slept soundly the rest of the night, except for a brief period that the image of General Wok appeared in a dream that he was having. That left after a short time, and he spent the rest of the night in a deep sleep.

He awoke early the next morning, and went to the local cafe to have a good breakfast. His favorite waitress, Naomi, waited on him and, as usual, teased him about his being out on the town. Little did she know where he had been, and that he enjoyed the friendly banter between them. She was a pretty woman and had a fetching figure. John had thought about asking her for a date, but his type of work prohibited him from asking. He needed to get a special clearance for her before he could date her. He hadn't had time at this point. So he returned to his quiet apartment without asking her for a date. He had a very important bit of research to do on this fine Sunday morning. The research on Naomi was on hold. Work for John was piling up, and it was all very important.

John went to the clock and pressed the secret switch, and the clock's back panel opened revealing the screen. He studied the instruction sheet some more, then he pushed another control panel button. Suddenly, the screen lit, and a figure appeared in a swirling mist. As the mist cleared, a beautiful woman became clear on the screen. She held a lovely hand, palm up, and smiled. John was so surprised at this moment that he just stared at her. At this point, she spoke with a foreign accent, but in English. I welcome you to my forefather's final resting place. I am Isis Nefertiti, Queen of Egypt and this planet Valle. The mirror is the entrance to my world now. If you will press the second button just below the one you have pressed to activate the screen, then, The Clock will transport you to my time warp. At that point I will answer your questions. John was still in a state of shock. He ignored the tired feeling that he had and felt refreshed. The Queen’s beauty was so impressive it could not be ignored.

At that point, the image of Isis faded from the screen. John, still in this state of shock, pressed the button that she had described to him. A blue light bathed him with a warm feeling, and suddenly he was transported through time and space. As he became aware of his surroundings, he saw that he was beside a rather large river. Suddenly the figure of a lovely woman appeared from a grove of trees by the river's edge. It was the same image as the woman on the clock's screen. John was totally at a loss as what to do in the presence of an Egyptian Queen.

She sensed, or read, his mind and laughed saying, You do not need to kneel to me. That custom was left in Egypt when I passed to this land. I do not know what had happened at the time of my death. I do not know anyone here, but I have been welcomed into this culture and am very happy. I have been here for a long time and keep busy receiving people from other timeframes that have been sent here for one reason or another. I will try to answer your questions, or I will take you to our Oracle for enlightenment. She smiled and indicated a seat in the trees.

Chapter 5

John was still speechless at what he was seeing and hearing, but followed her to the seat. There were several lovely maidens standing with refreshments and fruit on gold platters. John finally found his