Time Will Tell (Part 1)

Facility 40, Temporal Research
20/8/20██

Doctor Anderson stood over his creation. Behind him, Assistant Researcher Jeremy stood hesitant. The control panel for the Anderson Device, with a keyboard, some screens, and countless knobs sat under a large observation window, looking onto a large cylindrical device in the centre of a room. Floodlights illuminated it, showing the incredibly detailed contraption, something so advanced Anderson could barely understand it. "Magnificent, 'innit!" Anderson gleamed at Jeremy. Jeremy, however hesitant and shy, had to nod. The Jeremiah Spacetime Sequencer was named after him, and it was a critical component in the function of the machine. Anderson strolled to the panel, punching keys and turning knobs. Jeremy stood at the JSS controls, looking at its sequencing of the Chronon field. Anderson shouted "CLEAR!" and pulled a lever, powering on the machine. It glowed ever so bright, making the two scientists cover their eyes. As suddenly as it started, it just stopped. Jeremy glanced at the Sequencer, "It worked! We're five minutes back!", he exclaimed. Anderson smiled so wide. His machine to view the past, just as it was, worked. Though it required some improvements and downsizing, it was a wonderful machine. They looked outside at the frozen scene, the birds seemingly fixed in place, just as they were 5 minutes ago. But it all seemed too good to be true, as when Anderson looked at the energy consumption, he saw it spike and start growing. Stumbling back, he reached to disable the machine and resynchronise time, but before he could do that, the entire world flickered before him.

The world started stretching and growing, distorting and shifting. Jeremy shouted "WHATS HAPPENING, THE SEQUENCERS GOING CRAZY", in despair. Anderson looked around at the panel, trying to keep his calm composure. The machine seemed to be manifesting the past in a physical form. Anderson lost his composure and screamed "NO! NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! ITS LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE! HOW! HOW?", he had to shout over the whirring of the machine, "TEMPORAL DISPLACEMENT CIRCUITS, COME ON! PLEA-". It worked. The distorting stopped. The manifestation of the past was gone. Anderson calmed down, but the peace was broken when Jeremy looked up out of the window, seeing an exact copy of the Earth hovering in the sky.

"Oh shit. Oh shit. The displacement circuits must've somehow overloaded and encompassed the whole world, then it manifested the past in its physicality. This is really bad.", Anderson went on and on. Jeremy tried to change the topic, "No use whining, how are we meant to fix this?", to which Anderson simply responded, "I have no clue". They both stood around, until Anderson got a message. Directly from the Overseers. "What is going on? How do we fix this? Respond fast, Anderson!". He frowned. Suddenly, a revelation hit him like a brick wall. "WE NEED TO GET THERE! ITS OUR PAST, SO WE NEED TO MAKE THIS NEVER HAPPEN! THATS IT!", Anderson shouted, which Jeremy nodded to. Responding to the Overseers, he said, "Get us there ASAP. I can fix this".