Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book 21

By Robert P McAuley

When Secretary of State Seward fails to show up for the signing of the Purchase of Alaska agreement on March 30, 1867 the Russians walk out and the United States of America never purchases Alaska. Besides missing out on the gold, gas and oil that comes with the territory, the Russians now have military bases right on our and Canada’s doorstep.
PLUS A BONUS BOOK: The Aviator.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert P McAuley
• Release date: Jun 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463486962

Robert P McAuley

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, I now reside in Long Beach, N.Y. I worked in New York City as an Art Director for 3 different magazines one of which was UFO magazine. I've been writing short stories for the past 20 years and found Time Travel to be my favorite topic. After writing Time Travel Adventures of the 1800 Club: Book 1, I wrote books 2 through 18 and am presently working on book 19. In between I've penned a young adult time travel book, two aviation trivia books, a book about a family of vampires, a romantic western and another time travel book plus 'Sky Ship', a high-action thriller.

Book preview

Time Travel Adventures of

The 1800 Club

BOOK 21

Robert P. McAuley

Published By

Robert P. McAuley and Smashwords

Edited by J.D. McKinnon

Copyright 2020 by Robert P. McAuley

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which has been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

This E-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This E-book may not be re-sold or given to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

Contents

The Premise

Losing Alaska

The Aviator

Author’s Note

Other books by Robert P. McAuley

The Premise

The 1800 Club is a 21st Century haven for people seeking to escape New York City’s frantic pace. Dressed in clothes their ancestors might have worn during the 1800s, members enjoy foods of the period and read periodicals featuring news of a particular date in the 1800s. However, the 1800 Club also has an astounding secret . . . Time Travel. Members travel back in time nudging famous persons and key events just enough to ensure history unfolds, as it should. Guardians-of-the-past, living in the future, send robotic probes back through the ages, discovered that, at critical time-junctures, pivotal figures stray from vital tasks and actions. These Time Watchers of the past can’t go back and fix the glitch in the timeline because the atmosphere they breathe has been cleaned up over the years and the air of the past is almost unbreathable for them. Then an 1800 Club member from the 2000s are sent back to guarantee that events get back on track. The 1800 Club’s members aid Lincoln, Roosevelt, Bat Masterson, Mark Twain and many others. Without subtle interventions by these unknown agents, the famous might have been only footnotes, rather than giants of history.

Dear reader, I once read a time travel book where the main character went back over one hundred years in the past to retrieve an object from a house. He entered the house, picked up the object and brought it back to his time.

To me it was upsetting that he took us back in time and never once said anything about the house! Never described anything! He might as well have just gone back to a park where things never change.

That is why I try to bring the reader along with me as I travel through time.

RPM

Losing Alaska

DATELINE: AUGUST 5, 2072 11:26 A.M. PLACE: HISTORY WATCHER’S CONFERENCE ROOM, NEW YORK CITY

It was one of those rare days when all of the History Watchers were present in their conference room when there was no business to be attended to. As it was Jerry Sullivan on duty they sat across from him and the group’s hologram reader.

So, asked Jerry as he used his long red and black checkered shirttail to clean his plastic rimmed glasses, all of you guys just happened to be in the building at the same time? He shrugged his shoulders then brushed back his longish brown curly hair. Highly weird, my friends, highly weird indeed.

Well, said Maryellen Muldey as she looked across the table at him, Maybe not so coincidental after all. She casually put her hand in her pocketbook on the floor near her feet and came up with a cupcake, which she placed on the table. At the same time John Hyder quickly placed a candle in it as Alexis lit it and pushed it across the table as they all sang ‘Happy Birthday."

Jerry sat back, which made his chair to squeak in protest at the sudden shift of his extra belly weight.

Aw, you guys! I forgot it’s my birthday. He squinted one eye as he blew out the candle and asked, Am I supposed to cut this into five pieces?

Maryellen answered with a shake of her head that flopped her white pageboy hair back and forth, No, Jerry, we wouldn’t do that to you. She now took the brown bag from her pocketbook and placed it on the conference table. One for Alexis, she said as she took a cupcake out of the bag and pushed it in front of Alexis, One for Joseph. She pushed one in front of the big man as she added, Sorry it’s not a meatball hero, Joseph, but you’ll have to settle for the cupcake. The group laughed as she took another and said as she placed it in front of John Hyder, One for John, and, one for me.

Jerry lifted his cupcake and said, Here’s to all the members of the History Watchers. Cheers!

All held theirs up and said, Cheers! and took a bite.

Delicious, said Jerry as he finished his. Now, as we all know, time waits for no one. He cleaned his glasses and picked up a new hologram from the ‘in’ basket. The group took that as their cue to leave.

I’m on duty next, Jerry so I’ll see you in a few minutes, said John Hyder as he closed the conference room door behind him.

DATELINE: MAY 9, 2020 12:39 P.M. PLACE: 14TH STREET DOCK, NEW YORK CITY

A condor flew lazily over the Hudson River heading for mid-town and all four members of the Ornithologists Club of Brooklyn sitting on the 14th Street dock shouted at the same time, Condor! Condor!

Turkey Condor, shouted one as another called out, No, no, it’s a Black Condor.

They sighed as whatever type it was the bird soon disappeared in the canyons of the city.

The Condor in fact was a Robotic Flyer from the History Watcher’s group. It was designed and built by the head of the Robotic Division, Ted Meham who at this very moment stood in the enclosed yard of the History Watcher’s building waiting for the ‘bot’s return.

As programmed, once it reached land the ‘bot cut its rocket engine and used its long wings for propulsion. When its GPS said it was over the walled-in park of the History Watcher’s building, it began to fly a circular pattern going lower and lower until it ended up on the outstretched arm of Ted Meham. Ted patted the ‘bot as a parent would its child, Let’s go home, fella.

He had loaded his Time Frequency Modulator with the date, August 5, 2072, entered the building and pressed the ‘Activate’ button then went up the stairs.

DATELINE: AUGUST 5, 2072 12:54 P.M. PLACE: HISTORY WATCHER’S CONFERENCE ROOM, NEW YORK CITY

Within five minutes Jerry Sullivan had the ‘bot’s hologram.

The knock at the door was followed by John sticking his head in, Hi again, Jerry.

Come on in, John. I’m actually on the last hologram.

John came in and placed his thermos of hot black coffee on the small table next to the door. He rubbed his hands together and said with a grin,