The Time Travel Directorate Read Online Free PDF Page A

others.”
    W ith a swipe of his card, the door flew open. Vin followed anxiously, his enthusiasm waning when he entered the room.
    Rows of industrial lockers looked similar to the ones Vin used in high school. The room was painted an industrial grey, and a leaking overhead panel was growing a brownish mold.
    “ This is the deployment room. Pick a combination code, something you won’t forget,” Chief Smiley said, pointing to a locker. “Leave your things here, you won’t be able to take anything back into the past.”
    “What about my clothes?” Vin asked, hoping he would not have to divest himself of his garments.
    “ Anything attached to your body will transmit with you—think of it like static electricity. The web manipulates your particles via cosmic strings, transporting your body to a location in the past.”
    “Should I wear a disguise then?” Vin asked.
    “Not for training. When we put you in France, yes, I’ll show you the wardrobe room later.”
    Vin placed his wallet and spare change inside the locker, feeling around for any other items in his pockets.
    “ To answer your previous question more thoroughly,” Chief Smiley began, reaching into the locker and pulling out a gel-like net, “Time travel to fix errors in the present is prohibited for the reason I just articulated. As you should know, all time travel to change the past is not only illegal, but it’s basically impossible.”
    As he spoke, Vin realized the item in Chief Smiley’s hand was, in fact, the web. It looked like a children’s toy, reflecting the drab color of their surroundings with an outdated feel. Looking closer, Vin realized it wasn’t rubber at all, but a delicate interlocking weave of fiber-optics.
    Vin blinked, unimpressed by the age of the technology. He knew that the private time travel industry used portals. The web essentially amounted to dial up internet. Unaware of his disappointment, Chief Smiley continued to drone on.
    “ Anomalies tend to be absorbed and averaged out. So we could go back and take her out of France, but some way or another, she would find herself there. We can’t fully prove why, but somehow things end up happening as they should.”
    Chief Smiley gave him a broad grin , looking like a contented tabby cat.
    “ All this is classified information, so keep it to yourself. My analysts are still running the numbers, but it’s pretty clear what Julius Arnold is doing—while illegal—won’t touch Standard D. The numbers will prove it, you’ll see.”
    “I understand sir,” Vin said, unsure what he was getting at.
    This was his mother ’s viewpoint, that all attempts to travel into the past end up being meaningless. If Chief Smiley didn’t think time travel to restricted areas was harmful, what were they doing? Vin must have misunderstood—it was all so new.
    “Here,” Chief Smiley said, abruptly passing the web to Vin.
    Vin squeezed the jelly-like folds of the device as Chief Smiley continued.
    “The web is outdated technology, but we find it actually is more consistent than some newer models that utilize particle . . . ” Realizing that Vin wasn’t listening, Chief Smiley sighed. “Never mind, see this pad?”
    He advanced on Vin, righting the web to reveal a small reading pane.
    “ Your code goes here, enter it now,” he directed.
    Vin complied, entering his passcode. The screen illuminated with a blinking 12:00 symbol. When Chief Smiley saw it, he gave another aggrieved sigh, pulling out his reading pane.
    “I always have to fix these things—Janice never resets them properly,” he groused, tapping furiously.
    Vin watched the clock reset to the current time.
    “You set everything though Central Computer?” he asked.
    “ I just inserted an end point into your web,” Chief Smiley continued, adjusting his glasses. “And since you asked, for all intents and purposes, I am Central Computer.”
    “Ah ,” Vin responded, wondering why Director Hay would give so much power to one