Samuel's phone vibrated on the cluttered desk, he fumbled for the device, a stark contrast to the sleek precision of the setup in his lab. The screen illuminated, revealing Eleanor's name in bold letters with three love emojis beside it. His thumb slid across the glass surface, accepting the call.
"Hey babe," Eleanor said, she was eager to tell Samuel about her find at the excavation site.
"Eleanor, my love, you wouldn't believe the possibilities unfolding here. I'm on the verge of activating and self-testing the Chronos. It could redefine our understanding of the universe!" Samuel's excitement resonated through the phone.
Eleanor chuckled, her voice a soothing melody through the phone. "Always an adventurer. Just promise me you'll be careful, okay? I don't want you accidentally teleporting to the Jurassic era or something."
Samuel laughed. "No promises on the dinosaurs, but I'll do my best. Wish me luck."
Samuel Hartman had spent countless hours working on his time-travel experiment. He was a brilliant astrophysicist, who had dedicated his life to the study of the quantum paradox, a phenomenon that occurs when a quantum system is observed by an external observer, causing it to collapse into a definite state. He had hypothesized that by using a quantum computer and a special algorithm, he could create a device that could manipulate the quantum paradox and allow the user to travel through time.
He had built a device, that looked like a watch, but with a more advanced and sophisticated design. He had also built a large and complex machine, which was connected to the device and controlled by a computer. The machine was designed to generate and stabilize a time portal, which was a wormhole that connected different points in time and space.
The device was designed to scan and select a historical era, based on the user's preferences and criteria. The device was also designed to communicate and synchronize with the machine and the computer and to transmit and receive data and signals.
He called it the Chronos, after the Greek god of time.
As Samuel terminated the call, he turned his attention back to the humming machine before him. He wore a special suit and a helmet and carried a camera and a recorder. He walked over to the Chronos, a small metal box with buttons and dials. He entered a code on a keypad, and the box opened, revealing a pair of electrodes that emitted a red light.
He glanced at a photograph of Eleanor, tucked amidst scientific papers. She wasn't just his girlfriend; her archaeological pursuits sparked the imaginative fire that fueled his astrophysical experiments.
Eleanor, her day at the excavation site concluded, found herself in the comfort of her home, she got carried by Samuel's excitement and had forgotten to tell him about her day at the excavation site. She settled into her evening, the artifact she had discovered resting innocently on a table nearby. Her phone buzzed, signaling a message. Curiosity piqued, she glanced at the screen to find a notification from Samuel.
"Everything's set. Here goes nothing! Wish me luck, Eleanor."
A smile played on her lips as she typed a quick response. "Good luck, Samuel. Can't wait to hear all about it"
"Sam, are you ready?" It was his colleague, Dr. Jones, who was monitoring the experiment from the control room.
"Yes, I'm ready. Start the countdown" Samuel responded as he took a deep breath.
He attached the electrodes to his temples, feeling a slight tingling. He pressed a button on his wrist, and the box closed. He heard a voice in his ear, coming from a small earpiece.
They had chosen a simple and safe target: the year 2020, the start of the pandemic. They wanted to see the first cases of the virus, and how people reacted to it.
"Chronos activated. Countdown initiated. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Launch." The voice was synthesized and came from the Chronos itself.
Sam felt a shock, and then everything went blank. He felt a sensation of flying, soaring, and zooming. He saw streaks of light and colors of different hues. He heard sounds and music, some familiar, some strange. He felt exhilarated and curious.
He checked his wristwatch, which had a built-in GPS and a timer. It showed that he had been traveling for about 15 seconds. He knew that the Chronos was designed to operate for a maximum of 30 seconds, after which it would automatically bring him back to his original time and place.
He tried to calm himself down and focused on the destination. They had programmed the Chronos to take them to London, January 1, 2020, at 12 p.m. He hoped that everything would go smoothly, and that he would arrive safely and unnoticed.
He waited for another 15 seconds, expecting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But nothing happened. He looked at his watch again and saw that it was still counting down.
"Dr. Jones? What's going on?" He called out but there was no response from the control room
"Why am I not there yet?" Sam spoke into his earpiece, hoping to get a response.
But there was no answer. He only heard silence.
"Chronos? Chronos, can you hear me? What's wrong?" Sam said. still, heavy silence as he attempted to contact Chronos itself
He tried to contact the Chronos again, but there was no reply. He felt a surge of fear.
Something had gone wrong. The Chronos had malfunctioned. He was stuck in the wormhole, with no way out.
He looked around, hoping to see something familiar. But all he kept seeing were flashing scenes of war, famine, disease, and death. He saw ancient civilizations and futuristic cities. He saw dinosaurs and aliens. He saw things that he couldn't explain or understand. He realized that he was not traveling to one specific point in time but to multiple ones. He was bouncing around the timeline, randomly and uncontrollably.
He was lost in time.
Sam tried to find a way to close the portal, using his wristwatch. He hoped that he could somehow reverse the process, and return to his own time. He pressed some buttons and a message displayed on the screen.
"Chronos malfunction detected. Portal unstable. Closing attempt initiated. Please stand by."
The next message displayed "Chronos transporting back to base. Initiating…."