Future Humans 2: Mixed-Time Children

By George DePuy and Tim Rayborn

Unearth the Future: When today's challenges meet tomorrow's heroes in a time-twisting saga!

Future Humans 2: Mixed-Time Children spins an enthralling tale of hope, innovation, and resilience. Engineer Jace's tales of his escapades through time confound even his closest kin. But when an invitation from the future beckons, the

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: Nov 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798822926806

George DePuy

George DePuy is retired from a 40-year career in higher education. During that time, he worked, most notably, at State University of New York (Binghamton and Utica); University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he served as Vice Chancellor and Provost; UC-Berkeley; and FSU-Panama City. Prior to his time in higher education, he worked at Bell Labs and IBM. He holds a BS in electrical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology and a MS and PhD from Syracuse University. He is married to Dr. Kathleen Valentine and has three children and seven grandchildren.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

IT WAS ENOUGH TO CATCH the little girl’s attention, a small golden object glinting in the late afternoon sunlight. She looked over from where she’d been playing by the edge of the river and was at once beguiled by its beauty and pristine shape, which seemed to shimmer in the heat of late afternoon. With excitement, she bounced up and hurried over to it, half-skipping, half-running. Kneeling down, she picked it up from a clump of reeds and held it in her hands, her eyes sparkling in wonder. The thing was smooth and perfectly round, like a ball, only made of metal, maybe gold. There were no marks, writing, or anything else on it. She giggled in delight at finding a toy out here.

She looked around to make sure no one else could see her (her father might still be out in the river on his fishing boat), and then brought her attention back to her new treasure, turning it over to examine it all around. It was alternately cool, then warm, and seemed to vibrate in her hands as she rotated it. There was something about it that made it almost seem alive. Her eyes widened as it started to hum, and the vibration became stronger.

The air around her seemed to move and start to spin in time with the vibration of the ball, and the little object grew warmer by the moment. Soon, it became too hot to hold and she let it fall from her hands with a short gasp. Her hands hurt and she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. Whatever this was, it was no toy.

Ky! She heard a voice calling from behind and turned to see her father hurrying up to her. What are you doing there, my daughter? I told you to stay by the dock.

She didn’t answer but pointed at the object where it lay in the black earth. The hum had stopped and it now was just as she’d found it.

What is this, little Ky Ky? What have you found?

Again, she said nothing, but reached out to hug him around his waist, and bury her face at the hip of his white loin cloth.

He patted her on the head and kneeled down to reach for it. What can it be?

She hugged him tightly and shook her head. No!

Come, child, it is only a small thing. He put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. He looked at the object again.

Gold, and maybe valuable by the look of it. It might have been lost by a merchant or stolen and then dropped in the thief’s escape. I should take it and keep it safe, until we can find out who it belongs to. Who knows, perhaps we can even keep it. If it is truly gold, that would improve our fortunes, eh? More than just those fish in the Nile.

It hurt me! she stammered.

How, how did it hurt you? He stroked her hair.

Hot, hot in my hands.

Well, it has been sitting in the sun, yes?"

No, hot after I picked it up. Got hotter. It shook, made sounds. The air moved.

He looked back at the object, his face a mixture of wonder and concern. He turned to her again.

Did it speak to you? Did it say anything?

No, it was just hot and shaking. I’m afraid!

My daughter, do you know what this means? It could be of the gods! Maybe from Ra or Horus. A gift, perhaps left here for the one who is worthy to find it! Perhaps they have chosen you to find this treasure, perhaps they have blessed us.

I don’t like it! she protested.

You do not have to. The ways of the gods are mysterious, but we must not ignore their signs. We must take it home with us.

No!

We will be careful, I promise you.

He drew out a small, linen cloth from his shoulder sack and reached down to take the object in hand. Wrapping it up, he tucked it into the bag.

There, you, see? I am safe, you are safe, and the object is ours. We will take it home and show it to your mother tonight. Then, we will decide what to do with it. But let us tell no one else for now. If it is a divine gift, we must keep it secret and safe until we know what it means. Or what it wants of us. Perhaps a priest can advise us. Come.

Ky nodded as he stood and took her hand, but in her young mind, she had a bad feeling that this was not the will of the gods, but something else, something dangerous. Still, she wiped away her tears and walked with him back toward the river.

Jace, you have to understand that this still sounds completely crazy! Sara stood up from the sofa and walked to the living room window of their rented cabin in the woods to gaze out over the morning wooded landscape. She shook her head but didn’t look back.

Yeah dad, his son Tom added. I mean, you’ve told us the story, like, three times since last night, but it feels like it gets weirder every time you tell it.

You think I don’t know that? Jace blurted out, a bit more defensively than he intended. Look, I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’m telling you, it’s all true.

Dad, Grace said in a quiet voice. I believe you. I know it sounds weird, but, for some reason, I do.

Jace smiled. Thanks, honey. Nice to know I have at least one person on my side.

It’s not that we’re not on your ‘side’, Jace, Sara sighed and turned around to stare at him. But listen to yourself. Listen to what you’re saying. I agree with Tom, it gets more bizarre every time you tell it.

That’s probably because of the whole-time displacement thing, Jace said, as if this were the most obvious explanation in the world. I don’t always remember everything all at once. It kind of fades in and out. I guess that’s what happens with time travel. I don’t know; I’ve never done it before. At least, not that I can remember.

But Sara sighed, doesn’t that just mean you can change your story any time, and we’ll just have to go along with it?

Jace saw Tom and Grace squirming a bit on the sofa, and he feared that a full-blown argument was about to erupt.

Kids, he said. Would you mind if your mom and I talked alone for a bit?

Both nodded their assent and slinked off outside, neither of them saying anything else.

Look, he said after they’d left. It’s nuts, I know. I still don’t completely believe it myself. But I know what I saw, I know who I met.

And last night, you just traveled back to the fourteenth century with those people in the woods to save some prince from being assassinated?

King. Edward II, I mean. King of England.

Okay, but for all you know, this is just some stupid joke your work friends are pulling on you. Maybe they slipped something in a drink, and you hallucinated.

And that would explain those months of lost sleep and tension? Or my literally throwing those kids out of our camp site? You saw that…

I don’t know, but it’s a lot more likely than that you’ve suddenly become a time-traveling superhero!

Ha! Hardly. That’s Tora, the woman from last night. I was just there because I’m descended from Edward, or something, and they’ve got my DNA and are… using it to help repopulate the thirty-first century. Jace grimaced again, realizing how absurd it all sounded.

Oh yeah, Sara rolled her eyes. Don’t even get me started on that. So, you basically have another whole family living in the future, right? I mean, do you have any idea how that makes me feel?

Jace sighed. I’ve told you, it happened long before we even met, and it didn’t happen in… the usual way. I didn’t even know about them myself until last week!

And they’re what? Half-alien?

Human, they’re all human, just different kinds of humans.

Because that’s what those grey alien things are, right? The ones with the big black eyes? Just… future humans

As far as I can tell, yeah.

Sara sat down on the sofa, shook her head, and sighed again. "Look, I really, really don’t want to believe that you’re losing it, and I honestly want to believe you’re telling the truth, no matter how crazy it sounds, so I’ll make a deal with you. If you can prove all of this, I’ll apologize profusely and never doubt you again. But if this is your story, you’d better be prepared to back it up."

Jace flung his arms out. But how am I supposed to prove it? You met Tora and Aereon last night; saw the glow in the forest.

And I have no way of knowing if that wasn’t just some prank pulled by your friends, co-workers, whatever.

Okay, so what do you suggest?

Sara folded her arms, tilted her head to one side a bit, and grinned ever so slightly. I want to meet them.

You did meet them, last night!

No, I mean this other family of yours. Those kids: Cam, Susan. I have every right to meet them, and frankly, so do Grace and Tom. If those children are as different as you say, it might be good for them to meet some different kinds of kids, learn to socialize a bit, play a bit; it might help them accelerate creativity, since that kind of spontaneity seems to be a problem for people in that time, at least based on what you’ve said.

Jace couldn’t help but smirk. Always the psychologist, eh?

Absolutely! So, call your future friends and have them take us to meet your thirty-first-century family. I think it would be good for all of us.

But I can’t just ‘call’ them. They don’t have cell phones! They show up when they feel like it, or not. For all I know, they might be done with me and I’ll never see them again. It’s not like I can whip out my communicator and have them ‘beam me up.’

"Well, you have to admit this whole thing sounds like a Star Trek episode, anyway. These future humans of yours seem about as cold as Mr. Spock, so maybe it’s time to foster opportunities for them to experience humanistic creativity in daily life… and have a little fun."

Okay, first of all, they’re not all like that. Tora definitely isn’t.

Oh? Thinking of starting a third family with her? Spread the love around a little more?

No, come on! She’s not even one of them. She’s from Denmark, like in the eighth or ninth century, I think, Viking times. Like me, they brought her in to work for them.

Oh, so she’s a Viking? Even better.

We’re getting way off track here.

Why not, this whole thing is already so far off the path of sanity that we might as well just go all in.

She softened her expression just a little. I’m teasing you now. Look, I can see you’re stressed, and honestly, I think you really do believe all of this. My first thought would be to send you right back to Cassie again for more therapy, but I’m going to do a little bit of my own tough love right here. I honestly do want to believe all of this, but you’re going to have to prove it. Definitively. And that means bringing your new friends back here and having them take us all to their time period.

Jace chuckled. Honestly, I’d love to have it happen just to see looks on all of your faces. But I don’t think they’d ever go for it. They seem to be pretty strict about who they take, and when and where.

She grinned. I’m sure you can be pretty persuasive. After all, if you just helped save time, they owe you one.

"Okay, fine. I’ll see