The Time Slipsters

By Terry Tumbler

A group of friends who have drifted apart decide to reunite and take a trip together. It is the near future, and their intention is to travel on the latest type of transport, in order to visit the ancient sites in Turkey.
They want to do this in luxury, and the travel company they selected has done its best to accommodate their desires. They are lost for words when they first cast their eyes on the spectacular, gleaming new vehicle waiting for them. It is in fact alien in technology, and far more of a futuristic craft than a mere ground-hugging coach.
Unwittingly, they are entering a world where time travel is a reality and machines can cater for individuals as well as the masses.
Soon, they embarking on a sightseeing tour like no other they could have imagined, and meeting a time-travelling stranger who takes them under his wing.
More than one person has a hidden agenda, as they realise when reach a highly protected secret location. It contains hybrid creatures on which the Gods of mythology are based

• Language: English
• Publisher: Terry Tumbler
• Release date: Feb 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370822638

Terry Tumbler

I retired in 2004 and am now living with my wife in Spain, amongst the Spanish. For over 30 years I was in the computer industry, some of which were with IBM before I got itchy feet. Afterward, I worked as an Organisation & Methods specialist before moving into mainstream computing and becoming involved in installation, management, analysis and programming. I took up writing at an advanced age simply because I had the time and energy to do so.A keen blogger, especially recently on Brexit related politics, and equally importantly on outlandish matters associated with my area of creativity in writing. My exhaustive research on UFO reported incidents is for authenticity, with the results reflected primarily in my books.

Book preview

Copyright

Copyright © Terry Tumbler 2015

The right of Terry Tumbler to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

No resemblance is intended to any real person, living or dead.

This book is sold subject to the condition it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be circulated in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise without the author’s prior consent.

ISBN PB: 978-1-5136-0763-4

https://terrytumbler.blogspot.com.es/

Cover design by [e-mail]

Version 5

Titles

If anyone cares to read the range of books written by the same author, they read as follows:

Seb Cage Begins His Adventures –Terry Tumbler’s grandsons stay with him and his wife on the Costa Blanca, for the summer vacation.

During this holiday, the elder grandson, Seb, has futuristic adventures when he joins a summer campus run by a mysterious organization called The Sombrella Syndicate.

Series: The Dreadnought Collective Book 1

The Inlooker –the uniquely gifted Thomas Beckon realizes his paranormal talents to change the nature of society in Great Britain.

Thereafter, as an emerging power broker, he helps shape mankind in its future development.

Series: The Dreadnought Collective Book 2

The Time Slipsters – A group of misbehaving friends take a trip together in the near future. They will travel on the latest type of flying bus. Unwittingly, they enter a world where time travel is a reality, soon to embark on a tour like nothing they could possibly have imagined. Some have hidden agendas, as are apparent upon arrival at secret locations.

Series: The Dreadnought Collective Book 3

The Deaduction Agency − witness at first-hand a group of specialist investigators, as they set up and run a new agency, dedicated to the resolution of criminal cases using paranormal assistance. This will be a new and emerging brand of policing, designed to protect our citizens.

Series: The Dreadnought Collective Book 4

The Sightseers Agency− the first recruit joins the new Sightseers Agency. He is a remote viewer and participant in the resolution of events that threaten the security of the entire world. Both his fledgling agency and its companion Deaduction Agency are part of The Dreadnought Collective, successor to the FBI and CIA.

Series: The Dreadnought Collective Book 5

Future World Rocks! − where past meets future, as two German scientists steal die Glocke, ‘The Bell’, to time travel. New settlers arrive from another galaxy and help reveal the existence of previously unknown beings hiding in the depths of the earth. Also found are slave laborers on the moon, who those in the know feel duty-bound to help.

This is a space opera set to rock music!

Series: Carousels of Life Book 1

Future World Rolls! – the German scientists who originally stole die Glocke seek a new haven, with the aid of two special agents. Hot on their heels is an implacable enemy, not of this world.

To protect them and the human race, friendly aliens participate in a most unusual manner, hence the title of this, the second book in the series. This is an uplifting space opera also set to music.

Series: Carousels of Life Book 2

For those who may be more than remotely interested in his upbringing, the author’s childhood behavior is recounted in a mildly fictionalized autobiographical work called:

The Rough & Tumbles Of Early Years

The author regards this as a valuable compendium of incidents, which could be serialized in the same vein as Just William.

Originally, it was prepared for the benefit of his family, who would otherwise have known nothing about his outrageous childhood behavior.

Series: A Wonderfully Wacky World Book 1

Santiago Tales –the irascible Terry Tumbler, who is based loosely on the author’s personality, organizes a trip with his cronies to travel to the sacred city of Santiago de Compostela. They follow sections of the St. James Camino, in Northern Spain.

En route, as well as swapping stories in the same vein as those described in Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, they endure intriguing encounters.

Conceptually, this is a semi-fictional book within a travelogue.

Series: A Wonderfully Wacky World Book 2

Note. Please be advised that English UK spelling is used in this book.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wife of many years, without whose help in its preparation it would never have seen the light of day.

Acknowledgements

This book acknowledges the bravery of researchers of UFO incidents. Their dedication and professionalism in the pursuit and publication of the truth has on occasion resulted in their death.

You have to know where to look to find sources for the following stories. Sometimes they are provided by whistle-blowers, others come from innocents who were not looking for the unexpected, it found them.

I am one of the fortunate latter several times over.

Special thanks are extended to:

The Literary Titan Book Reviews

Who have since emailed me with the following:

Congratulations!

We are proud to present you with our Literary Titan Gold Award.

This book deserves extraordinary praise and The Literary Titan is proud to acknowledge your dedication, writing skill and imagination.

The Gold Award is bestowed on books that we found to be perfect in their delivery of original content, meticulous development of unique characters in an organic and striking setting, innovative plot that supports a fresh theme, and elegant prose that transforms words into beautifully written novels.

Thank you,

Thomas Anderson

Also KIRKUS reviews of Magic Carpets, Turkish Carpets

Upon which The Time Slipsters is based and which it describes as,

Boasting Tumbler’s traits, which include a close attention to historical detail, and,

Giving way to a charming sci-fi adventure.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/terry-tumbler/magic-carpets-turkish-carpets/

Story Summary

A group of friends who drifted apart decide to reunite and take a trip together. It is the near future, and their intention is to travel on the latest type of transport, in order to visit ancient sites in Turkey.

They want to do this in luxury, and the travel company they selected has done its best to accommodate their desires. They are lost for words when they first cast their eyes on the spectacular, gleaming new vehicle waiting for them. It is in fact alien in technology, and far more of a futuristic craft than a mere ground-hugging coach.

Unwittingly, they are entering a world where time travel is a reality and machines cater for individuals as well as the masses.

Soon, they embark on a sightseeing tour like no other they could have imagined, and meet a time-travelling stranger who takes them under his wing.

More than one person has a hidden agenda, as they realise when they reach a highly protected secret location. It contains hybrid creatures on which the Gods of mythology are based.

Contents

Copyright

Titles

Dedication

Acknowledgements

The Literary Titan Book Reviews

Also KIRKUS reviews of Magic Carpets, Turkish Carpets

Story Summary

Contents

Setting The Scene Afresh

Flying Carpets, Turkish Carpets

§  1: A Fateful Decision Is Executed

§  2: The Tour Begins

§  3: Return To The Past (1 of 4)

§  4: Back To The Present

§  5: The Tour Progresses!

§  6: Love Valley

§  7: Return To The Past (2 of 4)

§  8: Pigeon Valley

§  9: Return To The Past (3 of 4)

§ 10: Troglodytes And Get-togethers

§ 11: Return To The Past (4 of 4)

§ 12: Buckets n’ Spades

§ 13: Tours Of Konya And Surrounds

§ 14: The Nature Of The Beast

§ 15: To Pergamon And Hospital!

§ 16: Onward Towards Hierapolis

§ 17: Next Destination – Ephesus

§ 18: Troy Beckons Afresh!

§ 19: Fee-fi-fo-fum!

§ 20: Hades And Haven

§ 21: The Specially Protected

§ 22: On The Road To Recovery

§ 23: Realization And Recognition

§ 24: The Final Countdown

§ 25: A Rude Awakening In Istanbul

§ 26: Bamboozled!

Some Personal Sightings

Setting The Scene Afresh

Changes of epic magnitude had become established in the United Kingdom, and were being rapidly adopted by other notable democratic countries. Some, Turkey for instance, were considering their options and had taken tentative steps in the same direction.

What were these monumental changes?

On Demand Democracy was the revolutionary flavour of the day. This was because, under the previous form of democracy, elections were only held at four or five year intervals.

In between these elections, politicians behaved as they saw fit, in ways rarely coinciding with what the electorate wanted from them.

By means of electronic referendums modelled on the Swiss style, voters were now fully participating in the democratic process. They had proved capable of forcing their elected representatives to debate issues with them in advance, and were getting their own laws passed by a majority vote in each constituency.

The tail was no longer wagging the dog, and the powers-that-be were being forced to accept the will of their citizens. There would be no more bailing out of rogue financiers, unless with the support of the populace.

With regard to their personal transport, people had become accustomed to using driverless vehicles, wherever and whenever they wanted to travel. These were hired from government agencies, and there was no additional outlay beyond a rental charge, based on the number of passengers being carried per journey and distance involved.

The Personal Official Transport System was the designated collective name for such craft, although individuals fondly referred to them as potties. These were introduced to the public as replacements for cars, but their initially hidden ability to fly soon became apparent.

People loved being driven from source to destination without suffering the inconvenience of having to make stops or changes en-route.

Hence, on the broad shoulders of rapid technical advances, there were two major influences forcing the pace of change in many parts of the world. These were: ‘On Demand Democracy’ and potties to sit on.

In the meantime, the world-wide population was in the throes of reducing dramatically. This was the outcome of one final, desperate act of autocracy by its leaders, for the sake of survival in a populous universe. They had intervened to ensure the human race temporarily ceased procreating.

By induced infertility, the world-wide birth rate was stabilising at a much lower level. In the ageing generations to come, the fertility needed to induce a controlled birth-rate would be gradually reinstated.

Naturally, while the population lessened, many adults were redeployed in leisure industries for the rest of their natural lives. Free enterprise was diminishing as state control over daily lives increased.

Given evolutionary change, this is surely the natural order of events? Nothing will be left to random chance in obsolete, free-trade economies.

There’s an apocryphal curse which can reputedly be invoked by stating, may you live in interesting times. This would have certainly applied under these circumstances.

Flying Carpets, Turkish Carpets

Flying Carpets, Turkish Carpets

Moving swiftly through the air

Without noise above the ground

You’d hardly know they’re there!

Flying Carpets, Magic Carpets

Which transport you around

As they rush you everywhere

To where vendors do abound.

There are no nerves a ‘jangling

As they scatter you around

Amongst the populace who enjoy wrangling

With prices that astound.

But don’t forget the reasons why

To Turkey you did fly

To see amazing sights and scenery

Whilst people test your patience

Forever selling things to buy!

§  1: A Fateful Decision Is Executed

Those were the days my friend

We thought they'd never end

Fancy a trip to Turkey?

Terry Tumbler, a retired detective from Scotland Yard, posed the question to his long-suffering wife, Sandra.

She snorted. You’ll be lucky! What makes you think I’d want to go back there? After their previous one and only visit, she’d said repeatedly, There’re far too many people in the country.

Also, wherever they went, everyone was trying to flog them stuff.

She added in justification, Besides, we’d have to suffer their notorious money-grubbing visa system on entry! The first time they had visited Turkey, it was to see their injured grandson and they’d been given priority clearance.

He said in a hurt tone, It’s changed a lot since then. We can fly there direct using a potty, the visa is paid in advance, and I’ll invite some friends to come with us.

Huh! she exclaimed. What friends are you talking about? You upset everyone I liked on our last trip.

She was referring to their previous excursion to Santiago in Northern Spain, when his outrageous behaviour had caused ructions with most of the others on the coach. Since then, he’d stuck with family for company and, as she insisted rather cruelly, they didn’t really like him either, did they?

He looked at her with a hang-dog expression. Well, I’ll behave myself this time. Pretty please, baby give me one last chance?

I’ll think about it. This was her usual response when she had an open mind.

Terry was therefore content to let matters rest; they both knew she tended to give in when she spoke in this way. Henceforth, the onus would be on him to find friends to join them.

The true reason he wanted to go to Turkey was best not confessed; he had a gut feel he’d been there before, in another incarnation. Quite possibly, it could be his last opportunity to find out if there was foundation to this belief.

This was being reinforced by a voice in his head telling him, "You need to come to Turkey and save us from oblivion!"

He wondered, "How any of this is going to pan out lord knows, but I want to get there!"

The first and most essential step was to gather his friends and invite them to join him on another trip by coach, to see the ‘Ancient Miracles of Turkey’.

"That should pacify the missus!" he decided, trying to remember who’d she liked most on the Santiago pilgrimage.

So far, the list had stabilised, with only a small core of people expressing a wary interest in going with him. By implication, this meant he had to improve his behaviour else they wouldn’t come.

Plus, cost was a major factor.

The list read:

Billy, a retired Engineer, with

Bessie, his wife;

Graham, a retired soldier and boyhood friend of Terry, who lives in the UK with

Norma, his wife;

Wilf Right-Angle, a retired printer, accompanied by

Prissy, his wife, whose maiden name was Angle.

Hence the double-barrelled surname he had adopted.

The final couple were:

Dr John Watson Ph.D., retired librarian and poet, who’d had acted as the official record-keeper on his last trip with Terry, to Santiago. He was refusing to document anything if he went with him to Turkey.

Now he was with,

Mary. She was the younger wife who he had recently courted and married.

Only Graham and Norma lived in the UK, while the others were Spanish residents.

And so, Terry buckled down to the task of offering them ‘an unrepeatable opportunity to go to Turkey’.

The recipients of his emailed tour offer read it with little interest, looked at the price and nearly fell out of their chairs. In the drop of a hat, they changed their minds, and viewed their friendship with the Tumblers in a favourable light.

His previous behaviour was now regarded as an aberration.

When shown the email, their equally indifferent soul-mates changed their tune and commented,

"Well, she is really nice, so I suppose we can put up with him for the duration!"

Thus, in a spirit of forgiveness, they accepted the offer, gleefully glad-handing each other.

The sole exception to this hypocrisy was the gentlemanly and forgiving Dr Watson, who was still preoccupied with satisfying his newly acquired marital duties.

Each couple hired a two-seater potty from the nearest regional centre, to come direct to their home for the outward-bound flight in two weeks’ time.

Using the world-wide web, the return journey was booked for 10 days later from the Turkish Potty Centre in Istanbul.

Terry, dismayed by the poor response, told Sandra,

That’s all I could muster! Including us, the total will be five couples.

She eyed him with scorn, warning, In that case, you’d better be on your best behaviour, hadn’t you!

To Terry’s consternation, shortly before they were due to depart he got an urgent phone call, followed up by email, ordering them to attend the main hospital at 9:00am within the next two days. They were also told to bring with them all the medication they were currently taking. The reference to quote was ARNY 5070.

"What’s it all about?" they wondered, so Terry recited the reference into Twinkle Search. Nothing of true relevance was found, only mention of a long-dead actor and a film called The Terminator, so they decided to go post haste the next morning.

When they arrived, Terry went to a row of ticket machines, fed in their Health ID Numbers, and both were allocated tickets showing their call numbers and area to go to; the title of it was Special Projects Team.

Never heard of it, Terry said, looking around for a relevant sign, which he found on the wall opposite with an arrow pointing to its location.

He and Sandra strode into a large waiting room full of wrinkly oldsters, just like them. The queue was clearing fast, as the call numbers showed on a display panel, and people rose to hobble through one of a row of doors opposite.

They would often pause, not sure which to open, as the lights above randomly turned from red to green.

It can’t be bad news if all oldies have to attend, Terry whispered to Sandra. Maybe it’s a jab against the flu.

When their numbers came up, Terry sang, Green door what’s that secret you’re keeping? and pulled one open as the light above it changed green.

He laughed as he passed through; there was only one room the other side of the row of doors, and it was full of white-coated doctors sitting at desks. Alongside stood nurses, and opposite sat their current patients.

A roving nurse came across, and asked Terry and Sandra to show their health cards, ticking their names off her list as she hummed happily.

When requested, they handed over the pills they were taking at present. She looked at them keenly, to ask, "Is this all? You must not keep any, or you could suffer when you start the new treatment."

Nope, you’ve got the lot, he replied cheerily, and she told them to sit in front of the next available doctor

What’s this all about, Alfredo? he sang to the white-coated doctor sitting opposite, reading the name printed on his chest ID badge. Standing next to him was his assistant nurse, grinning as she held a large bottle containing a cloudy, dark liquid swishing lazily around as if it had a mind of its own.

The doctor replied with a smile, You are taking part in Project ARNY. It’s akin to the Flu inoculation you get every year, but this one is taken orally, once a day for a month, two teaspoons per dose, instructions on the bottle.

The nurse handed it to Sandra, and they studied its label. The doctor said, We are giving this free to all the older patients on our list.

Is it going to have side-effects, and does it taste vile? Terry asked.

No to both questions. In fact, it is tasteless, with no harmful after-effects, and will benefit your body and brain.

What does ARNY stand for?

"Oh, Age Related something or other; I forget the rest of it. Have you given back all the drugs you are taking? As from now, your current prescriptions are cancelled."

Terry asked, Are you sure, the whole lot?

The doctor checked Terry and Sandra’s medical notes, and pronounced his verdict.

Yes, all of them! I see your pills are intended to combat the various perils of strokes, cholesterol and arrhythmia, and keep your blood pressure stable with dodgy alpha-beta-blockers. All are tailored for the pair of you ageing burdens on our health service!

Goodness gracious me, great balls of fire! Terry chanted, while Sandra looked astounded.

What we are about to take is really good, is it?

Sitting back beaming, hands behind his head, the doctor replied,

Yes, it’s the Holy Grail of science, an elixir to give you a pain-free, germ-free life in your old age! You can leave here now and live in physical comfort. Go forth and multiply!

As they left, Terry asked Sandra, Did he just tell me to pee off, or did he mean we can have children?

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, patted his bum and said, Only time can tell, but don’t worry; no one is giving birth anyway, these days.

Within two weeks of the potties being ordered, the five couples in the group were on their way.

Terry and Sandra were tracking the others, and arrived some 30 minutes in advance of them, landing in the gardens behind the Hotel Senator in Istanbul. The journey from their address in Spain had taken a dizzying quarter of an hour.

They dismounted and walked to the front of the hotel, leaving the luggage to its own devices.

Each suitcase was branded a Bright Boy, because it had micro-chip intelligence and could do a variety of things on its own. These abilities became apparent, as they rose on anti-gravity pads from the rack behind the seats and moved into the hotel on their own, to sit on the floor by reception.

Collectively, they were jocularly called the ‘Bright Boys’, and being the same size, occupied less space as they sat neatly side by side.

The receptionist pointed a scanner at them, and checked the embedded bar codes against the bookings on his screen.

Ah, the Tumblers are here! he said, typing an ‘x’ against each of the two names shown.

The empty potty flew back to Spain on automatic recall.

The margin of half an hour gave them ample time, so they hoped, to confirm the booking-in procedure. They wanted it to be smoothly handled for the remaining couples in their retinue.

After checking the computer records at reception, they went up to the hotel room, with their bright boys in hot pursuit, to unpack a few essentials.

Briefly, they freshened up before returning to the gardens to meet and greet their fellow companions.

The next potty to arrive held Graham and Norma, who greeted them warmly as they dismounted.

Terry asked their friends, We trust you both had a smooth journey?

Norma nodded, while Graham enthused, Yes, but it would have been nice to view the scenery. The speed was terrific!

Terry agreed, True, but you could’ve had a catnap most of the time! How long did it take you to get here, from the UK?

Oh about 20 minutes, Graham replied, staring at his and Norma’s suitcases floating unattended into the hotel entrance.

They didn’t have much time to natter before Billy and Bessie arrived, swiftly followed by John and Mary.

For a while, the six of them stood chatting in the gardens.

Terry studied Mary with a professional eye, not having seen her before. She was shorter than John by a few inches, had naturally blond, wavy hair, and a shapely figure, emphasised by her dark red straight dress cut above the knees.

At first sight, she was adorable eye-candy. He was entranced as he looked intently at her face, fascinated by her blue eyes, straight nose, peaches n’ cream soft skin and cute almond-shaped cheeks. She also had cupid lips and a delicately proportioned chin.

Not that he was staring at her, of course.

At the very least, she was 20 years younger than the doctor, and he thought,

"You lucky son of a gun, she’s a cracker! I wonder if she’s got a brain to match?"

She startled Terry by saying with a laugh, "Yes, I do have a brain to match!"

Sandra’s face was stony, as John interceded with a knowing smile.

Ignore him Sandra; she often gets this reaction from strangers. The problem for men is: she can read their minds!

Feeling embarrassed and starting to blush, Terry diverted attention by saying,

There’s no sign of Wilf and Prissy on the horizon. We’d better move indoors and complete bonking-in…

He looked away as he stuttered, "Oops, sorry! I meant booking-in!"

Mary grinned wickedly, as Terry blushed deeply and said,

After you’ve escorted your big boys to your rooms, we can meet in the bar, at the back of the hotel foyer. Later, if you’re okay with the idea, we’ll go out and see some of the sights.

Sandra nudged Terry in the ribs as they walked, hissing, She’s got far better taste than me, adding cattily, John is more handsome than you are!

Terry retorted, "It was better for me to keep one woman ecstatic than twelve happy! You were the lucky one!"

Her reply was unprintable, until she realised that John’s wife might also be capable of reading her mind.

The four couples had gathered by the bar and were sipping chilled lagers when Billy saw Wilf and Prissy arriving at reception. He rose immediately, to say,

I’ll go and tell them we’re here.

After they’d completed the booking-in formalities, Billy quizzed them, Where have you two been?

It’s a long story, Wilf replied. He was all hot and bothered.

Billy looked at their suitcases and noticed they were the old-fashioned type on wheels, which needed to be pulled along with straps.

Without waiting for the inevitable questions to follow, Prissy spoke,

Yeah, we’ll tell you all about it later, when we’ve unpacked. She waved to the rest of the group and pointing at her watch, indicating with sign language they’d only be a few minutes.

Ten minutes later they emerged from one of the elevators and shuffled over to join the others.

Wilf apologised, Sorry we got here late, but we’ve had a few problems.

Terry whispered to Graham, As usual!

Out