The Portal: A Trip Through Time

By DC Hedlund

More and more people are assaulted by anti-religion and false teachings, yet the Bible has never been proved inaccurate or incorrect. Historians have documented its accuracy from Noah's ark to the miracles performed by Jesus Christ Himself. Titus Flavius Josephus (37 c. 100), also called Joseph ben Matityahu, was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian who wrote of many of the miracles and crucifixion of Jesus.

Now you can read the account of a young man, struggling with doubt and faced with a love that he could not run from, traveling through time to search for the man called Jesus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449760823

DC Hedlund

I am a Christian by faith who has spent thirty years reading my Bible from cover to cover and checked various editions for accuracy and readability. During my career, I have studied law, technology, and cultures, as well as specifications and projects. During my lifetime, I have come to know the Lord in a very real sense, seeking His leadership in my life and living a relationship with Christ that has shown me His love and grace. I live in Georgia, one of many homes over the years. My family and I have lived in Chicagoland, Texas, Oklahoma, Sweden, and Georgia. My jobs have allowed me to travel to many countries around the world and meet many different people and cultures from the Amazon region in Brazil, to Korea, Japan, Kamchatka, Okinawa, China, The Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Suriname, Colombia, Sweden, the UK, France, and other countries. Christ is my Savior, and I look to Him for direction and leadership. He has never failed me.

Book preview

Chapter 1

A Trip Through Time

General, how much farther do we travel? Tim Drake asked of his leader, the mighty Hannibal, fearsome to most but like a father to Tim.

The sky was a brilliant blue, empty but for a few stratus clouds floating aimlessly overhead. The brilliant rays of the morning sun were just beginning to creep across the mountain peaks. The mountain air was fresh and clean, yet still held a good bit of an icy chill. Hannibal, the legendary, majestic leader of army intent on conquering the Roman world, headed the column of his mighty army from atop the lead elephant. He was dressed in magnificent purple and red robes that covered a white gown with gold trim. Atop his head was a white and gold turban complete with royal-blue peacock feathers.

W e still have a far distance to travel, young Tim. There are many strange lands and foreign peoples to conquer, stretching out farther than you can imagine. With you at my side, Tim, together we will conquer the very world, the general confided to his young protégé.

The mountain passes were lined with white granite rock that seemed to reach up and touch the very heavens. At the crest, snow covered the peaks like a winter-white blanket continued as far as the eye could see. Tim turned to look behind him. He watched as the army of elephants and men trailed for what seemed like miles. It was a splendid sight to behold.

Suddenly there came a whistling through the air followed by a thud. A soldier on the elephant directly behind Tim had been struck in the chest by an arrow. He clutched at the wooden shaft, groaned, and fell from his lofty perch. In just a moment, men were shooting arrows at Hannibal’s army from almost every rock that lined the canyon. Confusion struck the column, throwing it into complete disarray. The army scattered, leaving Hannibal trapped by enemy forces. His men were falling, and it looked as if the battle might be lost.

I ’ve got to do something now! Tim thought as the fevered pitch of battle grew. He drew his sword. Raising it into the air, he shouted, Yo! Rally men! Onward! We fight for Hannibal and for victory! Whirling his weapon around and around over his head, he urged his mighty beast directly into the path of the oncoming horde, cutting a bloody path through the enemy as he rode to Hannibal’s side.

Hannibal’s soldiers stood by, watching with amazement as the youthful leader fearlessly charged ahead. In moments, inspired by Tim’s heroic charge, the rest of the men rallied behind Tim and attacked. Tim continued to charge into the mass of attackers, cutting down three of them and allowing the mighty general room to fight his way clear.

The battle drew to a close, as enemy forces began to withdraw hastily up the walls of the canyon. Timothy, my lad, the mighty Hannibal shouted loudly enough for all to hear, you have done me a mighty service and saved my life! You shall be a general of my army and a governor of many lands when this is over. You are a royal prince, my fair son! Tim stood there, with Hannibal’s arm around his shoulder, proud. "If only Mom and Dad could see me now."

The sounds of the classroom brought Tim Drake back to reality. It was Friday afternoon, and Tim sat quietly in Ms. Hardesty’s class, staring off aimlessly. He could hardly wait to get home from school. He had been working long and hard for the past several months, saving money wherever he could. Two weeks ago, he had reached his goal and had ordered the last piece of computer hardware he needed. It arrived yesterday.

Tim continued to sit there, still gazing off into the distance, unaware of what was going on in the classroom. As he often did, Tim let his mind wander. Today he thought about his new twin frequency modulator.

There, in that secret dream world, he could work on his computer or dream of far-off places without the interruptions of the world around him. He could dream his wildest dreams, traveling to other countries or times.

Timothy! Timothy Drake! Wake up! commanded Mrs. Hardesty.

Tim snapped out of it quickly. Turning his head back toward the front of the classroom, he answered, Yes, Ms. Hardesty?

Timothy Drake, I don’t know what I am going to do with you. Day-dreaming, always day-dreaming. "Ms. Hardesty looks really put out," Tim thought.

Burr-ring, Burr-ring… the bell rang. All right, class, you may leave as soon as you put away your books. Half the class was up and out the door before Ms. Hardesty had completed her sentence. Tim was not about to be the last one out.

Hey, buddy. It was Ron Taylor. Where you headed?

Going home. Got my new KT1200 Power Enhancer yesterday and am planning to hook it up tonight, responded Tim.

You and that computer of yours. Can’t you do that some other night? I got us a date with the Baker twins, Ron announced. And they’re too hot to pass up for a computer."

Maybe some other time. I’ve been waiting for this modulator for a long time, and tonight is the best time to hook it up.

Come on, Tim. These are the Baker twins. You can’t pass up this date. No one in his right mind would pass up a chance with Debbie and Donna, argued Ron, waving his free arm in the air while the other one clutched his books.

So I’m not in my right mind, Tim said, stopping for a moment. Look, I’d like to, but I just have to get this done. Hey, I know. Why don’t you ask Mark to double with you?

Ron looked around and then back to Tim. Okay, but you owe me. It’s rough having a geek for a best friend.

When they got to Tim’s locker, he unlocked the combination and tossed in his books. He turned back to Ron and said, Look, I promise I’ll double with you guys next time.

You’re off the hook this time, but I’ll hold you to that promise. Ron scratched his head. You must really love that computer. The Baker twins… Who’d believe it? See you later.

Bye, Tim said. He reached back into his locker, digging out books he needed to bring home. One last check and then he closed it, locking it with a spin of the lock’s dial.

Tim walked over to the bike rack. He unlocked the chain that held his bike to the rack, climbed on, and headed down Elm Street. It’s a beautiful day, he thought as he rode down the street. Mom won’t be home for another hour. She worked for Century 21 Realtors and usually didn’t get home ’til 5:30 p.m. each day. Oh well, guess I’ll have a little peace and quiet to finish putting the KT1200 into the computer.

Chapter 2

Anyone Home?

Anyone home? Tim shouted as he stepped in through the back door. No answer. Tim dropped his books on the kitchen table and walked over to the counter. He reached into the cookie jar, and retrieved a couple of Mom’s homemade chocolate chip cookies. Then it was to the refrigerator to get a glass of milk. Snack in hand, Tim went up to his room.

The new modulator was sitting on the computer table just where he had left it. Tim stopped there for a minute, staring at the new addition to his computer system, as he took a sip from his glass of milk. Setting down the glass, Tim picked up a screwdriver off the table and walked over to his computer. Tim disconnected three wires. He moved them to the terminal on the frequency modulator. After reconnecting the wires to their respective positions on the modulator, he was finished.

Tim sat by his computer console. He paused for a moment before turning it on. He watched as the numbers rolled by, indicating the amount of resident memory. Finally, the autoexec program kicked in, and the master screen came up.

Good afternoon, Tim. I am on line with 700 gigabytes of memory available. A Dell KT1200 frequency modulator has been added to my system and is available. The voice came from the speaker mounted on top of the computer. The speaker had been wired into a modified artificial intelligence system Tim had purchased from another computer hack.

Hello, Data, Tim replied. Go to D drive and run the TIME program.

Tim could hear the computer’s system in motion. Yes, Tim. D drive has been accessed, and the program TIME is now available.

Data’s voice was programmed to sound like HAL’s, the computer from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Tim got a charge out of that, but now it was back to business and the moment of truth. Tim had spent a great deal of time programming the software and procuring the necessary computer hardware he needed. While it had only been a theory, Tim was hopeful he could open a portal, a window in time. He had spent eight months in research, reading books and asking teachers and others a great many questions. He refused to accept, It’s just not possible, for an answer. Although it was mainly theory, it appeared to be the only logical output of all the information he was able to gather.

Tim issued the command, Enter ‘RUN PORTAL.’ Once again, the computer’s drive system sprang into operation. Wurrrrrrrr, wurrrrrrr.

The system announced, Running PORTAL. A little red light on the Computer front panel lit up. The program was running, yet it appeared as if nothing was happening. The light went out. Tim sat there looking at the computer.

Status report Tim requested from the computer. The system is fully operational. TIME accessed, PORTAL run and complete.

Nothing seemed to happen. Tim sat there thinking. What was wrong? He scratched his head, got up and walked around the room once, pondering on what had just happened. Then sitting down again he spoke, Access SIZE.

Size equals 0 x 0. The computer responded. Bingo that was the answer he needed. Now he understood what was wrong.

Set Size 2’ x 2’. Tim instructed.

Once again the system began to run its program, adjusting to the new parameters. Then, as abruptly as it started, it stopped again.