Time Runners: The Stolen Souls, #1

By S. K. Vaughn

Winning at all costs could be the loss of humanity

The year is 2035. The world is struggling to overcome another economic downturn and widespread environmental deterioration. In this world of uncertainty and greed, sports have become the new religion, and the sports companies have become the leaders of the recovering international economy, doing whatever is necessary to grow their power and profitability.

For the past three years, Orion Sports has won the International Endurance Race—the crown jewel of world competitions—helping to make them the most powerful conglomerate on earth, sparking curiosity from their competitors.

Orion's head of security, William James, discovers that Orion is using diabolical technologies that are not only killing those involved but could alter the world in irreparable ways.  His natural instinct is to go into hiding, but a single email giving hope of a chance at a life, free of fear, changes his mind.

Orion Sports' competitors have learned of their tech, and there is no limit to what they will do to obtain it. James finds an unexpected ally in Karen Greer—a neurobiologist for Invictus Sports, Orion's main competitor—and they work together to prevent the technology from being used for nefarious purposes.

Can two people successfully fight the largest, most powerful organizations on earth?

Will they succeed in stopping the use of the technology before more lives are destroyed, and civilization is altered forever?

• Language: English
• Publisher: S. K. Vaughn
• Release date: Sep 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781732651203

Book preview

TIME RUNNERS

●●●

S. K. Vaughn

Copyright © S. K. Vaughn 2018

All rights reserved. The right of S. K. Vaughn to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.

No part of this publication may be altered, reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including, but not limited to, scanning, duplicating, uploading, hosting, distributing, or reselling, without the express prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of reasonable quotations in features such as reviews, interviews, and certain other non-commercial uses currently permitted by copyright law.

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction. All characters, locations, and businesses are purely products of the author’s imagination and are entirely fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, places, or events is completely coincidental.

Time Runners by S. K. Vaughn

This book is dedicated to my wife, Janet.

Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to complete it.

She is the person who has loved me through the good, the bad, the sickness and the health. She is the greatest gift I have ever received.

*

To my father, James Vaughn, who inspired me to write and tell stories. To my four children—Sasha, Cody, Cameron, and Caitlin, who have enriched and blessed my life in so many ways. To Mark and Lorna of AuthorPackages.com, who have provided outstanding support and excellent service far beyond the norm.

Table of Contents

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

ONE

May 5, 2035

BILL JAMES, THE CHIEF Security Officer of Orion Sports, glanced up from his computer and rubbed his stubble-covered chin. He’d been reviewing yesterday’s security reports, like he did every day, and something didn’t feel right.

The Southern New Mexico forest’s breathtaking view went unnoticed as he focused on the screen. He didn’t trust the system’s artificial intelligence, or any human, for that matter, to analyze the reports. His vigilance had paid off. In the two years he’d been in charge, there hadn’t been a single security breach.

From when he was a small boy, he had spent much of his life trying to prove he was the best at everything he did. The army had given him the opportunity to fulfill his dream of being one of the best soldiers in the service, but that wasn’t good enough because, like every other human being, he had made mistakes— mistakes that had gotten people killed; people he was supposed to protect. The guilt of his failures haunted him and drove him beyond any reasonable expectations a person should have of themselves. He rubbed his face, took a drink of cold coffee, and peered back at the screen, searching for what didn’t feel right.

His weathered features made him appear older than his thirty-one years. The scar on his chin from a piece of shrapnel didn’t help, and neither did his salt and pepper hair. Oblivious to the fact that most of the women at Orion Sports admired his rugged good looks and athletic physique, he continued scrolling through the report. Everything looked normal, until he noticed a slight elevation in the thermal reading for Section R-4, at the western perimeter. The elevated number was within the security protocol parameters and hadn’t set off an alert, but the higher reading had lasted for over three minutes.

That wasn’t normal.

A coyote could’ve caused the temperature to rise that much, but there was no way a coyote would’ve stayed in one place that long in full daylight. Something was definitely wrong.

He reached for his radio to send a security team to the temperature anomaly’s location when his phone chimed.

How had Dr. Lewis gotten his private email address?

To: Mr. James

From: Dr. Mary Lewis

Subject: I need your help!

I know you must be wondering why I’ve contacted you through your private email, instead of the company’s system, but I simply don’t trust its privacy. Would it be possible for us to meet? I need some advice about personal security. I’ve heard you’re the best. Let me know as soon as possible. I know this sounds like an exaggeration, but I’m in fear for my life. Please respond with some dates and times as quickly as you can.

James had never had any direct contact with Dr. Lewis, but he knew about her. Everyone at Orion knew about her, which reinforced his suspicions in relation to the email. Orion was the largest sports conglomerate in the world, and it had gotten there by being thorough and careful. Someone as high profile as Dr. Lewis shouldn’t be afraid to use Orion’s communication system. This felt wrong.

Maybe this was some test to see if he would be willing to sell company secrets. He wasn’t responsible for corporate espionage, so there would be no way for him to know if this was something those guys did. He’d used a similar technique to catch a soldier suspected of stealing and selling military secrets, years ago. He tapped the search field on his screen and typed in Dr. Mary Lewis.

James had access to most of the security databases in the world, which was one of the advantages of being the head of security for a division of one of the world’s most powerful companies.

The search results didn’t surprise him. There were over twelve hundred hits on the list. He had configured the search to prioritize the results based on a threat algorithm, focusing on keywords associated with stress and danger. He tapped the first item and read.

After a half an hour, he still had no clue why Dr. Lewis was feeling threatened, assuming the email was legitimate. Her life seemed almost perfect.

Maybe the problem had something to do with her work.

He tapped on the Orion Human Resources icon and opened Dr. Lewis’ personnel file. There was no reference to the work she was currently doing or, for that matter, had ever done at Orion, which meant her work was either illegal or so valuable Madeline Thurston, Orion’s CEO, didn’t want anyone to know about it.

That meant trouble. Madeline Thurston was the most ruthless, competitive, and egotistical person James had ever met. She had risen to the top of Orion Sports by using her beauty, her lack of a moral compass, and her drive to win at everything, even if it meant killing those who got in her way. She had leveraged the population’s fanaticism and need for sports heroes and winners into one of the most influential companies in the world. Sports was just the face of the company. Under Madeline’s leadership, Orion had diversified into technology, communications, and transportation. There were rumors she had direct access to the President of the United States and many of the other leaders of the world.

This could be where the threat was coming from. Perhaps Dr. Lewis was being used. James couldn’t afford to get caught up in whatever this was. Interfering with a threat to a person like Dr. Lewis could get you killed. He decided to ignore the email for his own safety.

Then the phone rang.

James here.

This is Mark Kirby from the Security Monitoring Desk. Something terrible has just happened on the training course, he said in a rush.

What? James asked.

The alarm system activated, rattling the office with flashing lights and sirens.

What happened? James yelled.

No one answered. The phone had gone dead. James dropped his briefcase and ran toward the Security Command Center.

TWO

Past Date: August 15, 1765-- Zero Date: March 3, 2035

(Two Months Earlier)

SUNLIGHT SPEARED THROUGH EMERALD foliage. The rush of the wind was the only sound he heard. Warm, humid air pulled the sweat from the hunter’s sinewy body as he leaped over a fallen log. His moccasin-covered feet embraced the contours in the ground. The deer’s scent hung in the air, and the hunter sensed that the animal had bolted up the slope to his left. His lungs felt as though they were being crushed, and the muscles in his legs burned with pain, but he never wavered from his ground-eating stride. From a young age, he’d been an incredible runner. When his naming day arrived, everyone had known it would have something to do with running.

Running Wolf continued up the wooded slope with his bow ready. He reached the ridge and scanned the creek bed below as he flew down the trail. He glimpsed the deer’s white tail as it flashed up a narrow trail on the creek’s other side. He’d been running at near full speed for most of the morning. Everyone else in the hunting party had collapsed in exhaustion hours before.

He jumped the shaded creek and nocked an arrow on the string of his bow as he closed in on his prey. The deer was faltering, and he knew he would have a shot when he reached the top of the slope. Running Wolf dropped to one knee when he crested the trail. As expected, the deer stood at the bottom, panting.

Running Wolf took a deep breath, raised his bow, and slowly let the air out of his lungs. His fingers released the string. The arrow flew true, and the deer dropped to the ground.

As he jogged toward his quarry, there was a blinding flash of light. He felt a sting on his neck and fell to the ground.

***

Two figures stepped out of the time-fold aperture and lowered their weapons. The astringent smell of ozone seeped through the ventilator of Dr. Reven’s breathing unit. The transparent visor on Tom Farrow’s helmet reflected the brilliant blue sky and the pine trees’ vibrant greens. Dr. David Reven was always amazed at how much clearer and alive the world of the past appeared. Everything even smelled cleaner and more vibrant.

He needed to focus. On this time jump, they were limited to twenty minutes to accomplish their task and get back to the present zero time. If they stayed any longer, they ran the risk of being discovered by someone in the past, and the ramifications of that would potentially be catastrophic. They had studied the vectors of other humans in the area and determined they had a safe window of twenty minutes to obtain the personality core and return to 2035.

We need to get started right away, Dr. Reven said.

As he walked over to the runner, he took out his vital-signs scanner and adjusted the calibration to fit the runner’s weight and height.

"He is an excellent specimen. His lactic acid level is amazingly low," Dr. David Reven said as he scanned the immobilized runner.

Dr. Reven had located the runner by investigating the inspiration of a story about a character in a book written in the late 1700s, who was a great Native-American hunter. He had discovered a reference date for the setting, and guessed there had to be a thread of truth to the story. From there, it had been easy to do a scan of the time period to find the runner who was the model for the character. His search led him to this Native American.

***

Tom Farrow, Dr. Reven’s assistant, was gasping to catch his breath. The clarity of the sky and the brilliant colors disappeared as he closed his eyes in a futile attempt to stop the throbbing in his head. The debilitating impact that traveling back in time had on his body shocked him. Sweat dripped into his eyes, and he felt like he was suffocating in the sealed, protective suit. Being an ex-triathlete, he was still in exceptional shape, but it didn’t seem to matter. Just before he thought he was going to pass out, his body stabilized.

Though this was the first time Tom had transported back in time with Dr. Reven, he knew more about the technology than anyone else at Orion, even Dr. Reven, the self-proclaimed inventor, which Tom knew wasn’t true based on what Dr. Lewis had told him. Tom had been secretly studying and copying thousands of pages of research on the time-fold technology, which was why he was caught off guard about the negative impact of time travel on his body. Nowhere in any of the documentation was it noted, not even in Dr. Reven’s personal logs. What other information was left out of the documents? Maybe, he had been deceived, and Dr. Lewis hadn’t given him full access to the records. Or, more likely, Dr. Reven had hid information from Dr. Lewis.

Using his expertise in neurobiological electro-impulse communication, he had risen through the ranks of technicians to be the personal assistant to Dr. Mary Lewis, the inventor of the personality core digital copy/transfer process, which had given him access to the Time Fold Lab. It had taken over a year to persuade Dr. Lewis to ask Dr. Reven to take him on one of the retrieval expeditions into the past. For some reason, she didn’t want Tom to go, though she never told him why. Then it was another three months before he convinced Dr. Reven how important it was that he observed the process firsthand, to help him adapt the copy/transfer technology to ensure that the cores were stable, once the transfer was completed.

You seem to be having a little trouble. I’m surprised, since you’re in such good shape. I guess some people aren’t tough enough for this, Dr. Reven said. I need you to get focused. We’re running out of time.

Tom propped the runner against a rock and attached two wireless sensors to his sweat-covered brow. A transparent image of the runner’s head and brain appeared on his tablet. Everything was going as planned. The next step was to construct a neural map of the subject’s brain. Tom adjusted the sensor on the right temple and began the mapping process.

Without any warning, Dr. Reven crouched behind the log and thrust the point of a stainless steel probe into the back of the runner’s neck, pushing the tip into his brain. Tom gasped, and tried to hide his shock at what Dr. Reven had done. His stomach churned as blood trickled along the probe and down the back of the runner’s neck. None of the records from prior trips had said anything about killing the personality core’s body. Now, he knew why Dr. Lewis didn’t want him to go, and he knew all that he had learned about the personality core copy/transfer process from the documentation wasn’t the truth.

Tell me when the probe is in the correct location, Dr. Reven commanded.

That’s it. Stop there, Tom said, viewing the image of the runner’s head on his tablet, breathing deep to keep from throwing up, still in a state of shock.

Are you receiving a signal?

Yes, but…

His physique is perfect for running, Dr. Reven interrupted as he squeezed the runner’s sweat-covered arm. I’ve decided to take a DNA sample as well, now that I’ve see him. I think we can integrate elements of his structure into our latest clone version.

You killed him! This isn’t right. You were only supposed to copy his personality core, not remove it, Tom blurted, stepping back, unable to contain himself any longer.

You’re wrong. I questioned the morality at first as well, but then I realized—we’re giving these people immortality.

Concern filled Tom’s eyes. What if they don’t want to be immortal?

Who wouldn’t want to live forever, especially in a healthy, young body? But, if you don’t agree with what we’re doing, perhaps you need to work somewhere else.

Work somewhere else? This didn’t make any sense. Dr. Reven was truly insane. Not only did Tom not want to be involved anymore, now that he had witnessed the process’ brutality, he needed to get away from Dr. Reven and Orion as soon as possible.

Don’t you see? This is groundbreaking research we’re doing. Eventually, we’ll be able to keep a core personality alive forever. And that means we can all live forever.

Dr. Reven drew his weapon and pointed it at Tom. Am I going to need to get rid of you? You’ve made a grave mistake if you think I won’t do it. I’m not like Mary. Even though she is the smartest person I know, she is foolishly naïve to think that we can do things to make the world a better place, that mankind is worth sacrificing for. She lives in a cloistered dream world, not the brutal reality where everyone is out for themselves and that selfish motive is what makes the world work.

Until now, Tom hadn’t realized how psychotic and desperate Dr. Reven had become. Tom needed some time to think, but first he needed to survive. He hoped Dr. Reven would believe his change of heart.

Yes… yes, I understand. I do see what you mean. Every core we take back to the present time gets to live again. We’re giving them more time. Like you said, perhaps even an eternity. I’m ready, Tom answered, concentrating to keep his hands from trembling.

I’m happy to see that you’ve come to your senses. I knew you were a smart a fellow. Are all the sensors attached? Reven said, holstering his weapon.

Yes.

Good, then let’s proceed.

Dr. Reven activated the transfer unit attached to his belt, and the probe hummed, extending its network of filaments into the brain. Once the filaments reached the correct location, the transfer began. The display on the unit showed a two-dimensional image of the transfer’s progress.

Tom carefully withdrew the sensors and probe from the runner’s neck, as tears ran down his cheeks.

Suddenly, the immobile runner took a breath and his eyelids fluttered. Tom jumped back in panic.

Relax, Reven yelled. That’s normal. It’ll take twenty minutes or so for the body to completely expire. We need to go.

Reven adjusted his Time Fold Unit back to the present Zero Time: 10:00 a.m., March 3rd, 2035, and the coordinates for the Orion Sports lab’s location in the mountains near Ruidoso, NM. He lifted his ventilator and touched the DNA analyzer pad on the unit with the tip of his tongue. When the light turned green, confirming his identity, he simultaneously pressed the buttons on the unit’s edge. The Time Fold aperture opened.

After scanning the area, Dr. Reven asked, Are you ready?

Yes. I’ve completed the Impact Reduction Protocol. There’ll be no evidence of our being here, except, of course, the dead runner, Tom said.

Good. Prepare yourself for the return to Zero Time.

They stepped through the aperture, the light bent, and they were gone.

***

Pressure built up in the back of Tom’s head. Once again, he felt like he was being squeezed through a narrow pipe. In an instant, the pressure was gone, and he found himself standing on a stainless-steel grate. He ripped the helmet and ventilator off his head, bent, and vomited through the grate. The white enamel walls and stainless-steel cabinets disappeared as he closed his eyes, wishing the pain would go away. He heard the faint tick of warm electronic motors. A rush of air blew down past him into the grate. Then everything went black.

***

Reven shook his head in disdain, glaring at Tom lying on the floor. He would have to do something with this weakling, but he wasn’t sure what. Reven knew that Tom had been the only person who had helped Mary make any progress on stabilizing the cores, and that she would never forgive him if something bad happened to Tom. He had watched them become close over the past year. He remembered a time when she laughed with him the way she did with Tom. Not surprisingly, he didn’t feel any jealousy. He had moved on from Mary months ago. The power that came with being the head scientist of Orion Sports had brought him the admiration and willingness of many beautiful women. This wasn’t the first time he had considered eliminating a disagreeable coworker. Eventually, he would inform Madeline of the problem and let her handle it like he had done in the past. In the meantime, he needed to keep Tom alive and healthy, so he could continue helping Mary with the degradation issue, but he didn’t want to appear weak, so he would tell Mary she should fire him, knowing that she wouldn’t.

A group of hazmat-geared attendants approached the returning time travelers, spraying them with a detoxification agent as the air surrounding them was sucked down through the grate. After checking the readings on his suit to verify there was no imminent danger, he removed his helmet.

Tom isn’t handling the time displacement well, Reven said as he handed his helmet to the attendant. Take him to the recovery room and check his vitals. He might need a transfusion. Some people can’t handle this.

Yes, sir. Right away.

Did you get it? a voice asked through the intercom.

Yes, I retrieved the core. I think you’ll be impressed, Reven answered.

***

You’re right. The endurance markers are off the chart. I’ve never seen such high levels of pain tolerance values either. This is the best runner I’ve ever seen, Dr. Mary Lewis observed, looking at a set of colored graphs on the interactive wall display.

With this core personality implanted in the latest genetically enhanced body, there’s no way we can lose The Race, Reven added. "I brought back a genetic sample from the specimen as well. I’m sure we’ll be