Out of Time

By Charles DeMaris

Dr. Avi Zielinski is a retired professor with too much time on his hands and a penchant for tinkering. When his tinkering leads him to invent a working time machine, his work draws the attention of two wealthy brothers with little love for America.

Earl Grant and Clyde Jackson are the quintessential rednecks who have a passion for God, country, hunting and beer, not always in that order. When they find out that the brothers have stolen a working prototype from Dr. Zielinski's lab and plan to go back in time and drastically alter American history, there is no way they're going to allow that to happen. 

Join Earl and Clyde as they race through time and try to prevent an unspeakable crime, one that could fundamentally change the world as we know it. The fate of America rests in the hands of two of the most unlikely heroes. Pick up your copy of Out of Time today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles DeMaris
• Release date: Jul 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223902812

Book preview

1

October, 2016

Brookville, IN

Dr. Avi Zielinski steered his fishing boat, a Lund Sport Angler 2000, toward his favorite fishing spot on Brookville Lake. It was a small inlet that branched off the main part of the lake, a spot he had fished for years with varying degrees of luck, but he felt that today was going to be a good day. It was a crisp fall day and the breeze in his face as he opened up the 225 hp engine lifted his spirits. He loved this boat. It was by far the best fishing boat he had ever owned, handled like a dream with minimal bow rise even with the throttle opened up and had more than enough storage space. His wife Nadia had bought him the boat, or more precisely let him buy it, for his 70th birthday two years ago.

Lord, he missed Nadia. She was truly the best thing to ever happen to him. When he arrived from Poland in 1970 with only the clothes on his back, he never dreamed he would meet another emigre from his country, or one so lovely. The first time he laid eyes on her was when she waited on him at a small diner in Bloomington. Nadia was also attending classes at Indiana University and working her way through college by waiting tables. Avi was also working his way through school, and could hardly afford to eat out often, but he was there every day for the next week. If she wasn’t working, he would hang around until she came in. He knew by her accent that she was also Polish, and he found out on a date that she was also Jewish.

That did it for Avi. She was gorgeous, was from his country, and shared his faith. She had arrived in America two years earlier and was able to help Avi adjust to life in the States. They were married the following year and they remained best friends all those years. Her death of an aneurism just last year had been a hard blow. There they were sitting on the deck one morning having bagels and she looked at him with that tender look that always made his knees weak, said, Oh, Avi, what a lovely morning it is, and was suddenly gone.

He smiled as he remembered that morning, though his heart still ached at the recollection. Even through his grief he could envy her going out that way, sitting with the one she loved and feeling no pain. Today was one of those mornings she loved dearly, a cool fall day without a cloud in the sky. They would have breakfast on the deck on days like this, then take a walk around their property, a sprawling wooded estate not fifteen minutes from the lake, where they spent all of their time since he retired from the University three years ago.

Avi reached the inlet where he wanted to fish and throttled back, letting the boat drift to an eventual stop a few feet from the shore. He reached into his cooler and pulled out a beer, sipping it slowly as he fished. Not much biting today. Well, he had all day. That was the nice thing about retirement. No demands on his time. Eventually he realized that he only had one more beer in the cooler and two cans of Coke. That wasn’t going to cut it for the whole day. A quick check of another storage compartment showed that he also didn’t have enough bait to last another hour either. How had he come out so unprepared? ‘Avi, old boy, your mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be,’ he thought to himself.

Luckily there was a bait shop not far from where he was, an old shop that had been there on the lake shore for as long as he had been alive, a shop now being run by the grandson of the original proprietor. Five minutes later he tied his boat up to the pier and walked toward the shop. The first thing he noticed was that the old building appeared to be under a remodel. There was already a new roof and the sign, still reading Jarhead Bait and Tackle, looked brand new. This was certainly a change. He didn't think the shop made enough money for a complete makeover.

Before he could even get to the door, it opened and out stepped a large man in his early 40s, a broad smile on his cherubic face, followed by an equally large dog. The dog, an Old English Mastiff tipping the scales at over 250 pounds, saw Avi, recognized his friend, and ambled up to have his head scratched.

Hello Oliver, Avi said to the dog as he scratched his ears, You keeping your human in line?

Hi Professor, what brings you by today? Long time no see.

Come on Thad, just call me Avi, okay?

Sure thing, Professor.

Didn’t pack enough bait and my cooler is running low. I know you have plenty of bait. How about some liquid refreshment?

Got plenty of everything. Beer, pop, whatever you want.

Maybe just one beer and a six pack of Coke. Say, what are you doing to the place? This looks like a pretty major overhaul.

Well, it was about time I fixed the place up.

I know that, but I thought things were tight. You take out a loan?

No, couple came by two months ago, old lady and her grandson. I let them borrow a boat and a fishing pole for a couple hours. She left me a big check and a note saying to fix the place up.

Wow, it must have been a good check.

Yeah, fifteen grand. I’m putting it to good use. Probably be able to buy some new boats, too. Where’s your cooler?

Oh, I left it in the boat.

Don’t you worry about that, Thad said as he carried the drinks and bait to the boat, You don’t need to be lugging that thing up here anyway. So, last time you were up here you mentioned some big thing you were working on. How’s that going?

That’s going quite well. I figured it out last year but I didn’t have the funds to complete all the experiments and build a functioning prototype. Say, you want to hop in the boat and I’ll tell you all about it?

Sure, let me lock the store up and grab a pole. Probably not going to get any more business today anyway. Never do on weekdays, except from crazy retired professors.

Thad returned shortly after with a fishing pole, more bait, and sandwiches. Avi steered the boat back to the area he had been fishing earlier and picked up his story where he left off.

So, like I said, I cracked the equation but I didn’t have the funds to build the thing, so there I was. None of my peers believe me. They think I’ve cracked up and that what I said was impossible. Nobody will publish the paper I wrote on the subject and I couldn’t show any tangible proof.

So, what happened?

Would you believe the Powers brothers?

The guys who run Power Play Media?

Yeah, those guys. I never thought they had an interest in scientific research, but they offered to fund my experiments, wired me more than enough money. I set up a lab at the house and went to work.

So, were you successful?

Well, it took a while, but I eventually made a working prototype.

That’s great, so how does it work?

Well, most of the scientific details would go right over your head…

Try me.

Ever heard of tachyons?

No

Then let me just get to the nuts and bolts. The device is worn by an individual. You can put it around your waist and hide it under your clothes if you wish. It runs on high capacity batteries that I also developed. You put it on, select a date in the past on the display, and activate it by pushing a button on the side. You hold the button in for a couple seconds while the generator charges and then you’re off. When the generator fully charges, a temporal displacement field is generated around the wearer of the device, affecting anything or anyone else the wearer is coming into contact with.

Temporal displacement? In English please.

You select a date, push the button, and you’re transported to the time you selected. Anything you’re touching goes with you. If you were holding my hand, I would go with you.

You saying you made a working time machine?

If that’s what you want to call it.

No wonder nobody believes you. It’s like something out of science fiction. So, a guy could have this thing on and just run around time?

There are limitations. You can’t go forward.

That would kind of suck. So, it’s a one- way trip?

Not exactly. You can’t go forward from your starting point. For us, it’s October, 2016. We can’t go forward from here. You can go back and then the next time you activate it, you will return to where you started.

So, if I used it now and went back to meet some knights and then pushed the button, I’d end up here again?

Well, if you used it here, you wouldn’t meet any knights. They weren’t in North America back then.

I have to be in the place I want to end up in?

You got it. If you want to go back to witness a past event, you have to be in the place that event happened. The device only moves you through time, not to different locations.

So, you can go back, and then you have to come right back to the present? You can’t go back and then go back some more?

No, and I designed it that way on purpose. Eventually you need to come back to the present. Also, the darn thing uses so much power and I can only fit so much into a battery. You’d have to carry a lot of batteries with you. I made it where you can’t put future dates in. You can go back, and then you come back to the present. Think about it this way. If you went back to 1950, and then decided to go to 1850, when you triggered the device in 1850, it would take you back to 1950. Then how would you get back here?

I suppose that makes sense, but if you can make something that can go back to a specific date, couldn’t you make it to go forward as well?

Incremental jumps back to your starting point may be possible, but I haven’t tested that. Something like this could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands, so I made it with these limitations.

Just going back once could be dangerous if someone went and changed something.

I’ve given that a lot of thought, which is why I don’t think I’m going to sell the machine. I don’t trust anyone with it. I’d like to use it to clear up some historical confusion, only to witness events and not change anything.

You could let me borrow it. I’ll only go back to last Saturday and buy a Powerball ticket.

Funny idea. It might not work like you think it would. Small things like that could generate different random results.

Have you tried it yet? You have any proof it works?

Get in that storage locker there and grab my phone.

Thad retrieved Avi’s phone from the locker and handed it to him. Avi selected a photo on the phone and showed it to Thad.

Is this good enough proof? he asked.

Thad looked at the photo on the phone and stared in disbelief. There on the phone was a clear color photo of his bait shop, but it had to have been taken decades ago. The building looked brand new, and the young Marine standing next to the door looked surprisingly like his grandfather.

2

Richard Powers leaned back in his chair and surveyed the Los Angeles skyline from his office on the top floor of the Power Play Media building downtown. He felt like the king of the world up here, and as far as the media world was concerned, he was, or at least he shared that title with his brother Alan. When they were both still attending Berkeley, he started a magazine for the fun of it and by the time he graduated with a Journalism degree, he was already a millionaire. He used money from the magazine to branch into other media outlets, eventually buying out newspapers and television stations all over southern California. His brother Alan joined him a year later and focused on building an online media empire to match what Richard was doing in traditional media. That was when they formed Power Play Media. The name took all of ten seconds to come up with, given their last name and interest in hockey.

Over the next 20 years they grew their company into the largest media conglomerate in the world, controlling radio and TV outlets up and down both coasts. They also had newspapers, magazines, two publishing houses, a recording label, a wireless phone company, and a cable news outlet with a worldwide viewership. Multi billionaires and not even in their 50s yet, they had more than they ever imagined they would, but they weren’t resting on their laurels. Alan was always looking out for other outlets they could gobble up. It wasn’t so much for monetary gain at this point but for influence. They wanted to be movers and shakers; being filthy rich was not enough.

They were extremely charitable, giving away millions to mostly left leaning causes, but the real influence Richard dreamed of was political. Sure, he believed in the importance of fighting climate change, but that wasn't enough for him. Anyone could run for public office, but there were few who could buy politicians. He and Alan had a vision for reshaping America and they saw political influence as the way to do it. There was hardly a Senator or Congressman who hadn’t received substantial campaign contributions from them over the last decade, and that was starting to pay dividends. If a politician didn’t toe the line, things could get really difficult when it came time for reelection.

Richard’s reverie was broken by the vibration in his pocket. He looked at the display on his phone and answered the call from his brother.

Hey bro, whatcha got?

I met with the client in Indy. He agreed to all our terms.

Really? That’s great news. When are you closing the deal?

That will be this afternoon. The lawyer’s drawing up the papers as we speak.

Excellent. Will you be flying back today?

Sidney is waiting in Indy with the Gulfstream. Should be back this evening.

That’s good…Wait, I have a better idea. I’d like to meet with the client as well. Just sit tight at your hotel and I’ll see you in a few hours. I need to get away from here for a day or two anyway.

Okay, will do.

Wow, that was unexpected. So, the old professor had done it, if his brother was telling him the truth. When they wired the money, he hadn’t really thought the guy would actually build the thing. He hoped for it, but the idea was so far out there that he never considered it would be successful. He was hedging his bets, thinking of the fantastic applications of such technology, and what was a couple million anyway?

Time travel. He couldn’t even say it out loud. His mind was reeling with the possibilities. Buying politicians was child’s play next to this. They were about to get their hands on a device that would give them unlimited power, the power to change history to their liking. They could mold America to what they wanted, or eliminate America from history. No, that would be risky, or way too difficult. Better that they simply control small events. Nobody would be the wiser. Nobody but them would even know of the changes they had made. He needed to calm down. He had a meeting in an hour and he needed to appear in control. He went to the bar in his office and poured himself a drink, and returned to his desk.

2500 miles to the east, Alan Powers sat in his car and listened to the conversation between Avi and Thad. The old Polack and his younger fishing buddy were going to be there a bit longer from the sound of it. They were munching on sandwiches, drinking Coke, and catching bass. It would appear he would have plenty of time for what he needed to do. The bug planted in the boat was an amazing piece of tech. He was nearly ten miles from the lake and his phone was receiving the audio like he was in the boat with them. He drove another five minutes and came to the long drive into Avi Zielinski’s property. There was a gate, but the old coot hadn’t even bothered to lock it. That would work. The less of a mess he made, the better.

He arrived at the house and made a quick walk around, looking for any obvious security measures. Nothing. Looking through a window, he saw a keypad near the front door that appeared to be armed. That wouldn’t be any trouble, though. He pulled out a small device designed to intercept the radio signals most security systems put out and within a few minutes the security was disabled. He didn’t see any cameras,but pulled the balaclava over his head just in case, and entered the house.

The main floor consisted of a great room, dining room, kitchen, and a half bath. Upstairs was nothing but bedrooms and a master suite. He found the door leading to the basement and that’s where he struck pay dirt. There was a large home theater room on one side and going through a door opposite the theater room there was a well-equipped lab. It looked like the professor had spent their money wisely. Right there in the lab, just lying on a work table, were two of the devices he heard Avi describe in the boat. He looked around and found two spare batteries and grabbed those as well. He expected the devices to be larger or more complicated looking, but they looked rather simple, just a belt that could be fastened around the waist, but it appeared that when it was fastened it formed a hollow loop. There was a panel on the front that folded up to show a touch screen display and to the left of that was an enclosed box about six inches long and two inches thick with a toggle switch and a button on the side.

Being careful to make sure neither device was turned on, he put everything in a large duffel bag and made his way back to his car. He locked the house and made the drive to Indianapolis without incident.

Avi removed the hook from the mouth of another large- mouthed bass, put it with the others they had already caught, and said, You know, I can’t remember the last time I had such a run of luck. How many have we caught?

At least a dozen, each one bigger than the last. Has to be the bait. Where’d you buy it?

Funny, young man. Weather’s cooler. Fish are more active. Or we just know what we’re doing.

Maybe a little bit of both.

Say, you have any plans? This is a good load of fish and I wouldn’t mind help cleaning them. I might use some help eating them, too. What do you say? You want to come by the house and keep an old man company for a while?

Sounds good. Drop me by the shop so I can grab Oliver and I’ll meet you at your place. Just leave the gate open.

Thad beat Avi to his place and waited out front until he saw the professor’s truck coming up the drive. He helped Avi unhitch the boat and put it away, and then followed him into the house.

Funny, I forgot to set the alarm again, remarked Avi as they entered the house, Meet me on the back porch with the fish. I’ll just grab a couple knives from the kitchen. You want a beer?

Nah, don’t drink the stuff. What else ya got?

Hold on, let me check, and then yelling from the kitchen, Juice, milk, ginger ale, and a growler with what looks like root beer. Yep, it’s root beer. Got the logo from that place you like on the bottle.

BJ’s?

Yep.

That sounds good.

Avi showed up with two filleting knives, the jug of root beer, and two glasses.

By the way, young man, thanks for showing me this place. I go down there at least once a week for a refill on this root beer. Excellent stuff.

They have decent food there too.

I don’t know about that. I prefer my own cooking. Speaking of that, let me get the grill ready.

He put charcoal on the grill and returned, taking a sip of root beer and picking up one of the knives.

You know how to clean these things, don’t you?

Of course. You know what I do for a living, right?

Just making sure.

They made quick work of the root beer and filleting the fish and by the time they were finished, the grill was ready. Avi returned from the kitchen with seasonings,