The Shakers of Time: The Encounter

By James Tikalsky

The Shakers of Time contains a cast of characters who will present you with a question, a question applicable for our times and the furure that only you, the reader, can answer. This work is in the Science Fiction genre, and I must inform you it is not stereotypical. There are no intergalactic battles between genetically diverse creatures, good over evil inferences or romantic interludes. With interests in the interplay of the social and physical sciences and their subtle but dramatic sway throughout history, sci-fi allows us to explore humanities frailties and ambitions. Such discussions have influenced the creation of "The Shakers of Time.
You will meet a down and out author and his editor who are desperately attempting to revive the author's career. Also, an aged recluse junk dealer and his associate who are building hi-tech environmental recycling systems out of refuse, and at the same time are members of a clandestine worldwide organization trying save mankind from itself. Empathize with a disgruntled Lieutenant Colonel whose secret weapons project is not progressing as planned or an eccentric genius who may have brought about his nation's total annihilation; and finally, those who will bring them all together.
Follow them through time, or is it time through which they truly are traveling?

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Tikalsky
• Release date: Nov 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735212302

James Tikalsky

A childhood on a small dairy farm not much advanced beyond the use of horses in the last of Norman Rockwell's America, sheltered, nurtured and blindfolded the unsuspecting.This story began to formulate in a hootch in Viet Nam and took a lifetime to coalesce. A jack of all trades and master of none lifestyle along with a laissez faire disposition never quenched my curiosity to explore the relationship of the social and physical sciences. My studies led to the exploration of societies rejected suppositions and heresies.What have we forgotten? What have we yet to learn and relearn?

Book preview

PROLOGUE

A religious organization known as the Shakers reached their preeminence in the mid 19th century in a commune located in Watervliet, New York. Their basic premise was a Christian lifestyle dedicated to racial and gender equality, simplicity and pacifism. Their practice of celibacy demanded continual recruiting of new converts if their community was to survive.

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CHAPTER ONE

The makeup on the waitress could not hide that she was well past middle age. She and the truck stop where she worked had long seen their best days and layers of paint only hinted at the vitality both had emanated in their youth. The opening of the interstate system had isolated the restaurant. What had been an island oasis on a long stretch of two lane highway providing a welcome respite to truckers and travelers along the northern edge of the Nevada desert, now served only the local population of ranchers and aging citizens of a town so small that no current map listed its name or location. A few elderly gentlemen ranchers were sipping coffee at a window table as pastel hues of the morning’s sunrise lingered on their weathered features.

Gonna be a hot one today. The once buxom waitress still flaunted her femininity with the men she served. The elderly gentleman didn’t see the age on the face of the waitress who served them. She was still the demure and shapely young girl they had come to know in years past and whose banter could approach the risqué when the men met for their morning coffee and dined without their wives.

Yup, gonna break a hunnerd out on the flats. Good hay’n weather. One of the men replied.

Among these hardy people a conversation about the weather was not just polite small talk. They lived off the land and weather dictated the rhythms of life.

Sure thing honey, ya got a lot knocked down? The waitress asked as she placed gargantuan breakfast platters before the men. The sizes of the meals were reminiscent of a day when physical prowess was necessary to meet the demands of daily life. In their youth, ranching demanded physical strength and good neighbors. Sharing your labor and helping your neighbors was not just an act of friendship, but a necessity. The men had spent many days working together for their mutual benefit where the results of the day was and continues to be gauged by the number of hay bales stacked, or the number of calves branded. Over the decades, mechanization has lightened the physical burden of ranching but social ties ran deep and these men represent a community of fellowship created out of survival.

Glancing out the window, the waitress noticed a delivery step van for a bread company slowing on the severely patched highway. It raised a cloud of dust and an audible rattle inside the restaurant as it turned onto the gravel parking lot. Deliveries were made in the rear of the building as is customary at most places of business, but what was not customary was the enclosed loading dock that serviced the restaurant. With an operation of this size, deliveries are routinely wheeled into the building on two wheeled dollies, or even hand carried by the drivers. The covered and enclosed loading dock forced delivery trucks to be backed in and serviced one at a time. Venders loved it and hated it. It forced them to wait for each delivery in turn and could cause delays, but it also gave protection from the weather. In this part of the desert located in the lee of mountains to the west, weather could change unexpectedly. Weather fronts passing through could bring about brief and intense dust storms and the day could contain several weather conditions ranging from hostile to the sublime.

The bread truck was deftly backed into the dock. The exterior roll down dock door was triggered into operation by some unseen observer and began closing even before the delivery van’s engine was shut off. The driver in his delivery uniform slid back the cab door on the passenger’s side of the van and stepped down while routinely checking his surroundings. Upon arriving at the rear of the van he unlatched the roll up door revealing vertical rows of sliding rectangular bread trays filled with product for local restaurants, grocery and convenience stores.

The sound of the rear truck door opening triggered a response from within the cab. A sheet metal steel partition behind the drivers’ seat slid open and four casually dressed men emerged. They all carried gym bags as they moved briskly from the cab of the van to the rear door of the restaurant adjacent to the dock.

Pressing the delivery doorbell positioned next to the door, all four men turned to look directly into a surveillance camera pointed at them from a corner in the ceiling. The door’s electronic latch buzzed and all four stepped into a storage room that contained shelves of canned goods, refrigerators, freezers and the daily supplies for the restaurant. One of the men opened the door on a floor to ceiling storage cabinet and all positioned themselves before it. The elderly waitress entered from the dining room acknowledging the men with a wry knowing smile. She removed a key from her apron and inserted it into the lock on the door of a breaker panel box. Upon opening the panel door she reset a breaker which caused a metallic snap in the rear of the storage cabinet before the men. One of the men gently pushed on a shelf in the cabinet and it along with the back wall of the cabinet swung backward revealing a dimly lit white sterile room beyond. The four quickly stepped through the cabinet and entered the room. Once the false door had been repositioned, the light in the room they had entered rose to a comfortable level.

They had entered an elevator. Once the men were inside, one of them touched the lone button to the right of the opening through which they had just passed. Two standard elevator doors closed the opening and the elevator began to descend, a descent that was virtually imperceptible and silent. At its culmination the doors reopened onto a room composed of poured concrete walls and stark formality, completely devoid of arbitrary décor. Upon exiting the elevator, the men placed their duffels onto a conveyor to a baggage scanner similar to those seen in airports but lacking an attendant. The contents of the luggage would be screened in an adjoining room maintaining the isolation of the four men.

The men then walked to one wall of the room and raised their hands to shoulder height, placed their palms flat on a back lit frosted screen reminiscent to the type used to examine x-rays. The screen extended from floor to ceiling and was designed to examine the full stature of the individual. The men were examined for contraband on their person and their internal anatomy was scanned as well. All four stared unblinkingly at the screen for their retinas would be scanned as part of the exam.

Once all four were in place the screen popped like the strobe used by a professional photographer. None of them moved for they knew it would result in the cubical being flooded with a gas containing a fast acting sedative. The resultant headache from its exposure is one none of them ever wished to experience again. As a rookie on his first day at the facility, one of them had instinctively jerked his hand from the screen when the security system popped its scan. The incident is still a private joke shared only between the four.

The screen darkened signaling to the four that the scans were complete. As they retrieved their gym bags a door opened on the wall opposite the elevator. Up until this point none of them had spoken, it was the rule. Now that they had gained access to the inner portions of this underground facility they could converse but none of them initiated any conversation. They knew the importance of the upcoming experiment and each was already immersed in their personal agendas.

Their gym bags were stowed in modest sleeping quarters which bore the evidence of the on duty staff’s occupancy. Most days one or two of the on-duty crew members would be returning to the waiting bread truck and their alternate public cover occupations, but the importance of this day’s activity demanded all be present.

The four entered what could only loosely be called a control room. Most nondescript electronics firms would have operational facilities that displayed an appearance of professionalism unlike the facility they now entered. Equipment was positioned on long folding tables. Cable and wire harnesses lay haphazardly on the floor and strung with zip ties from the bare plumbing on the ceiling. The three men who had been present in the room sat transfixed at workstations surrounded by a hodgepodge of PC’s and monitor screens gave only a cursory acknowledgment to the four new arrivals.

To one side of the large subterranean room was a workshop filled with tools laying where they were last used giving one the impression that any work that may have been accomplished had been done in haste. Lathes, a small hydraulic press, welders mixed in with wood working tools, gem cutters and polishers sat next to oscilloscopes, ammeters and trays of electronic components and couplings.

In one corner of the underground room sat the focus of their attention. Its construction appeared as haphazard and disheveled as the surroundings in which it stood. It glowed. Intense primary colors emerged from within its soundless interior as it sat perched upon a skeleton frame of plastic PVC pipe insulating it from the concrete floor. It was surrounded by thick leaded safety glass panels allowing for visual observation but hopefully shielding the occupants of the room if the upcoming experiment would go disastrously wrong.

On the back side of the unit facing the outside wall were five concave metal dishes similar in shape and form to satellite dishes used by home owners to receive television connections. They were aimed at a collection of various sized crystals and mirrors standing on their own plastic pipe tables. These crystals were positioned before a series of cabinet doors suspended on the back wall of the room.

60 miles away to the north east sitting on the edge of a mesa and in direct line of sight of the café, sat a Cessna Skylane 182S, its brakes locked, landing gear and wing struts securely tied down to the ground and the engine at full throttle. No pilot sat in either front seat, the rear seats had been removed making space for a collection of electronic monitoring equipment.

A young man standing about six foot two, fit, lean, dressed in hiking boots, khaki slacks, flight jacket, sunglasses and a baseball cap moved amongst a menagerie of electronic gear surrounding the plane. He moved with a sense of impatience but checked each piece of equipment methodically.

A radio earpiece kept him in constant communication with the men in the clandestine laboratory.

Five minutes. Was the warning from the bunker.

One last check on a high-speed camera and he jogged to the edge of the mesa and into a ravine where he scrambled down the slope to a natural depression in the canyon face giving him protection from the test site above.

Control, all systems operational, 182 out. He said pressing a button on his lapel that contained a microphone.

182 confirmed. Two minutes to test. Was the reply from the bunker.

A hiss from small hydraulic cylinders signaled the opening of the cabinet doors suspended on the back wall of the bunker. Simultaneously under the ridge behind the café hidden from view of the dinners or anyone driving along the adjacent highway, an opening appeared in the side of a canyon wall.

Inside the bunker the crystals on the plastic pipe table began to sing. Starting with a subsonic bass it rose quickly through the audible range as if someone rapidly increased the pitch on an oscillator. An iridescent violet appeared within the crystals. Shades of the rainbow danced between the reverberating crystals illuminating the interior of the bunker like a 70’s disco.

Behind a row of monitors a technician was finishing the countdown.

Three-two-one-discharge.

A snap was heard throughout the underground control room. It was a crisp sound of static electricity but far more intense. It gave the observer the impression of being in close proximity to a bullwhip. All signs of activity vanished from the crystals. All seven men in the bunker sat dumbfounded momentarily staring at their monitors. Without instructions needing to be given, they all began frantic trouble shooting of the systems before them.

Anyone reading a malfunction?

No sir.

Same here, it just quit.

Agreed, all was within specs until the moment of discharge, then nothing.

Contact 182. It was a query as much as a command from one of the technicians. Eye contact and hesitancy between the men in the bunker betrayed their disappointment. Eventually one of them punched a button on a table microphone.

182, 182, report status.

The call from the bunker startled the observer who sat huddled in his makeshift shelter.

Will do. was the prompt reply. Rising, he scrambled to the top of the mesa where the airplane stood straining at its moorings. Squeezing the microphone button on his jacket lapel he answered.

No observable change. Give me five.

He sprinted to the cockpit of the plane. Arriving he opened the door and killed the throttle bringing the engine to an idle. He gave the monitoring equipment in the back of the plane a cursory glance. He then ran to inspect in turn all of the devices about the plane. Only after examining the last monitoring unit could one observe any enthusiasm drain from his posture.

Control, all systems operational, no detected external influences; repeat, external influences negative.

The disappointing and disheartening confirmation of the test results filtered through the bunker.

Control, pack it up. Was the command from the site of the Cessna.

Download all systems and I’ll meet you for lunch after I clean up here. Don’t worry, I’m buying. Does anyone know the soup of the day?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

CHAPTER TWO

Are you all right up there? asked Dr. Hinley.

Yes sir. Mikal’s bravado was tinged with apprehension. He was honored to be chosen to learn how to pilot Dr. Hinley’s latest invention but it was only two weeks ago that he was informed of his new assignment. The doctor may be the preeminent scientist of the time and had brought about many inventions that changed the face of the nation, but two weeks?

You are in for the ride of a lifetime. Dr. Hinley said sitting in the second seat behind Mikal at a set of identical controls as those before the expectant student pilot. The doctor was known for his impulsive behavior and many balked at his seemingly extemporaneous work assignments. The doctor’s insatiable curiosity had demanded that a laboratory be purposely located adjacent to his living quarters. Often he would be seen at any hour of the day or night, enthralled and oblivious to anything except his latest project. At such times he would often forego social etiquette or personal hygiene and could be seen scurrying about dressed only in his nightclothes.

Dr. Robert Hinley was not one to be delayed by social protocol. Many thought of him as being driven to the point of obsession. His was a passion for knowledge unbridled. He would personally test his inventions placing himself in harm’s way, not expecting the apprehensive to embrace the unknown. He had often successfully flown his craft solo. Upon his return he extolled the complexity and limitless frontiers that he had traversed to a doubtful staff. He was not dismayed by the cautious response of his often bewildered assistants. He knew his peculiar social behavior separated him from society, yet he felt an obligation to share his insights even with an unwilling population believing in time others would glimpse the implications of his projects and find ways to teach this knowledge to all of mankind in ways he was unable to accomplish. Was he a man of eccentricities, conceit? Yes and his pride worried him.

At the age of seven Dr. Hinley had mastered all known forms of mathematics. By ten, he was challenging the limits of scientific parameters. By seventeen, he had formed his own company and was beginning to revolutionize the nations’ economy with inventions that unburdened the masses. By thirty-two, he had transformed his island nation from one just entering an industrial age to one of unimagined technologies and wealth. He could have made himself immensely wealthy in the process but instead had shared his knowledge and discoveries. He understood that by raising the standard of living for all sectors of the population he would create a society with a strong economic base that even a small portion of its wealth would yield him greater riches then attempting to control a large portion of a weaker economy. The wealth that he drew from society was not only financial. The sharing of his knowledge also created a resource of intelligent, energetic individuals that augmented his genius. Now at forty-three, he was again about to catapult humanity, literally and figuratively to new dimensions.

For Mikal the last two weeks had been a whirlwind. Virtual non-stop training left little time for reflection on the consequences of his decision.

Can I do something for you sir? Mikal asked as he sat hands at his sides tightly grasping the thinly padded arm rests of a seat in which he had to stand. He knew that during launch his current position would put him in a reclined attitude relative to the extreme G-forces of launch. As instructed, he made sure he was strapped securely into his seat of the delta wing craft. Lights flashed on the counsel before him. They mimicked the manipulated version under Dr. Hinley’s control.

No no no. Dr. Hinley said almost chuckling as he spoke. You did very well on all of the simulations as I had expected. All I want you to do is observe until we’ve traversed a couple of transitions, then I’ll have you take control.

Mikal was startled as the little craft leaped in the air upon a magnetic cushion.

Hang on Mikal. Here we go. Dr. Hinley gave the laugh of an expectant child about to ride a roller coaster of gigantic proportions. Mikal sat transfixed, staring out the front of the bubble cockpit at a monorail lying in the bottom of a U shaped abutment which protected the craft from cross winds while forcing any turbulence and sonic boom up and away from the surrounding terrain. Imbedded in the rail were electro-magnets that lifted the craft and would alternately pull and push it up the fifteen miles of rail that terminated atop a neighboring mountain. Three miles before launching from the end of the monorail, the craft would reach three times the speed of sound. It was at this point that rocket thrusters ignited and would augment the acceleration of the vehicle. The initial acceleration from the monorail substantially reduced the requirement of combustible fuels and thus vehicle size, but limited orbital options. With the release of the vehicle from the monorail still in the upper atmosphere, the delta wing shape of the ship allowed some variation of final orbits.

The instantaneous acceleration obtained from the monorail virtually glued the two men to the back of their seats. Dr. Hinley’s chuckle was now a boisterous laugh.

Scream Mikal, scream. Dr. Hinley yelled at his student. It will help you breath.

Ahh. Fighting against the forces smashing his body, his attempt was inaudible.

Ahhhhhh! His second attempt was with greater gusto as he fought back panic.

Better, much better. Dr. Hinley yelled to his student. Keep talking to me.

What should I say? Mikal yelled back.

Anything, just say anything.

Why are we shaking so much? I thought the magnetic acceleration was going to be smooth? Mikal forced the question out of his chest with growing confidence that he just might survive.

It’s the air about us that buffets the ship. Take a look at the leading edge of the wings. See the heat build-up? It will disappear once we get into orbit.

Mikal strained to turn his head to view the leading edges of the craft. The sight of the glowing red portion of the ship made him question again his decision to volunteer for this assignment with even greater trepidation.

Is that where you put that artificial metal you created? Mikal asked looking for some reassurance.

Yes, it gets harder the hotter it gets, works great as a heat shield. It is in the cockpit bubble as well but it took a bit to try and figure out how to make it clear.

The launch was taking place early in the morning. Sunrise was becoming visible behind the mountain launch point as the craft raced westward. Leaving the end of the launch rail the craft automatically made preprogrammed adjustments for the desired orbit while still in the thin upper atmosphere. As they entered the star lit blackness of space the launch thrusters were extinguished.

Oh. The groan came from Mikal the instant the massive force of acceleration was removed and they floated into weightlessness. Hearing the students’ discomfort, Dr. Hinley turned on a vacuum with its intake located just to the right of Mikal’s mouth. In the weightlessness of space the vacuum quickly inhaled Mikal’s breakfast.

Don’t let it bother you. After a couple of launches being weightless becomes quite enjoyable. Dr. Hinley chuckled to himself as not to add insult to his student’s discomfort.

I sure hope so. Mikal moaned.

Ion thrusters will be starting in a moment which will give us some artificial gravity and help settle things down. By the time we make one orbit we will have gained enough speed to escape earth’s’ gravity. Enjoy the trip.

As the craft traveled westward over the ocean it come to the first of the Hanach Mountain ranges. These ranges were named for Rahnay Hanach an ancient sailor of Shakanian mythology credited with exploring the western oceans. The first sets of lesser peaks ran north and south in the northern hemisphere and were located fifteen hundred miles to the west of their homeland. These were just a harbinger for the expansive western range two thousand miles further to the west. This second range of mountains extended from pole to pole and was populated with abundant wildlife and only the hardiest of aboriginal humans. The rough terrain along with unchecked storms that spawned over the expanse of ocean that covered this half of the planet made life on these mountain ranges precarious at best.

Mikal’s breathing was becoming regular as the artificial gravity created by the gentle thrust of the ion engines helped to stabilize their equilibrium.

How do you like the view? Dr. Hinley asked giving Mikal something to think about other than his discomfort.

Unbelievable. The videos don’t do it justice. Sunrise over the Hanach with the sun blazing low on the horizon and its diffused reflection off the waves of the ocean, all blanketed by the blackness of space and the intensity of the stars unblinking in the firmament, was an experience few could behold without awe.

Dr. Hinley, Mikal spoke tentatively. Have you ever looked for life on the lands on the other side of the planet? Dr. Hinley was stopped short by the question.

You know Mikal that any discussion of the other world is forbidden by the Council of Intercession.

Oh yes sir, of course sir. I didn’t mean to imply, I mean, well…

It’s fine Mikal. Dr. Hinley interrupted. He understood the courage it took for Mikal to ask such a question of him. I know many wonder what the other world might be like.

The other world was a vast continent that lay eight hundred miles to the east of their home island of Shakana. Their island nation lay in the eastern half of an ocean that covered two-thirds of the planet. Other than their home island, the Hanach mountain ranges were the only land areas that gave any detail to the vastness of the seas. The other world covered the other third of their world. Their island nation had a theocratic government lead by the five members of the Council of Intercession. All five were also leaders of the state religion, Malata. Laws had been enacted preventing anyone from exploring or having any contact with the Other World. It was the belief of the Malata that the citizens of Shakana were direct descendants of the Gods and their purity must not be contaminated by mixing with other races.

Mikal, Dr. Hinley began cautiously. From the height that we will be orbiting we will only be able to discern major land features.

I’m sorry sir. I didn’t mean to imply…

Not to worry. Again Dr. Hinley interrupted. I also have pondered what wonders such a vast landmass may contain. But we must follow the directives of the CI.

Dr. Hinley had explored, if only briefly, the other side of his home planet finding it to contain a diverse flora and fauna distinctly different from his home island. And yes, there were humans, primitive, still living as hunter-gatherers, but human. It was Dr. Hinley’s supposition that the vastness of the other world had kept the interaction of tribes to a minimum slowing technological development. Shakana being an island forced its inhabitants to commune, bringing about an interchange of information and physical development. They would only catch a glimpse of the giant landmass on this orbit, as they will be flying over it during its nighttime hours. A concession Dr. Hinley had to make to the CI.

Let’s review the procedures for the transition. Dr. Hinley changed the subject to prevent further discomfort as both men skirted the taboo subject of the other world. They were isolated in space but if either were to even whisper to others the actuality of their discussion, they both could face interrogation by the CI. For Mikal this encounter could devastate his life as mere supposition of guilt could ostracize him from society. Dr. Hinley’s numerous encounters with the CI, along with his discoveries that had brought about financial rewards to the nation as well as to the members of the CI, had given him partial immunity but even he could suffer from the dictates of the Council of Intercession.

By the time we complete one orbit we will have obtained escape velocity and be high enough to prevent any harm to Shakana as we transition. Dr. Hinley repeated the obvious information from Mikal’s training as a means of filling the conversational void.

Will the visual display be as wondrous here as it is on land? Mikal asked.

No, we will briefly see the phenomena. The distortion of space which gives the viewer on Shakana the impression that light has passed through innumerable prisms will not be visible inside the ship. What we will see are realities with different atomic and molecular structures, realities that are only two dimensional, realities that are five, six or seven dimensional, realities where two or three atomic structural mechanisms coexist in a state of consent flux.

Looking at his monitor, Dr. Hinley recognized the confusion on Mikals’ face. He was about to expose him to realities unimagined. Would the discoveries he would soon experience stimulate him or overwhelm? Would he retreat to that place in his mind where the known world gave him comfort, or embrace the spectacle of wonder about to unfold?

The orbit continued and Dr. Hinley filled the anticipation of the transition with a litany of procedural requirements.

We will begin the transition just as we emerge into sunlight. I’m sure you will enjoy seeing the sunrise over Shakana.

The night side of the planet appeared as a void in space. Their small craft began to emerge from the eclipse of the sun signaling the next stage of their adventure. Shakana was only half emerged from the night. Half in the soft light of dawn while artificial lighting blinked in the distortion of the planets’ atmosphere giving detail to the presence of civilization on that half of the island still consumed by darkness.

Ready? asked Dr. Hinley.

Let’s do it. Was the hesitant yet confident reply from Mikal.

Upon activation of the transition shift sequence an intense pinpoint of light appeared directly in the path of the craft. Again checking his monitor, Dr. Hinley watched the concentration of his student upon