The Resurrection Wager E-Book

Christopher Coates

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

When two scientists develop the ability to go back in time, there is only one place for them to go to demonstrate their new technology.

After they make a wager about whether or not the resurrection of Jesus really happened, the two set out to prove their theories. They soon learn that there are others who are interested in their technology, but not for a scientific purpose.

But do they really understand the implications of their discovery - and what awaits them 2000 years in the past?

Leseprobe

THE RESURRECTION WAGER

CHRISTOPHER COATES

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Epilogue

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About the Author

Copyright (C) 2018 Christopher Coates

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2019 by Next Chapter

Published 2019 by Next Chapter

Cover art by CoverMint

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author's permission.

Chapter1

The early morning sun had begun to shine through the narrow gap in the faded, light blue curtains. Its illumination, still faint, revealed the sight of a spacious bedroom. A wood-framed, king-size waterbed was centered against the far wall, and various other pieces of oak bedroom furniture were in the room. All of this was sitting on a polished hardwood floor.

Most people would be ashamed of the condition of the room. Many of the dresser drawers hung wide open, their contents overflowing. Various items of clothing lay scattered about the floor. A few plates and glasses were on the floor next to the bed, and the nightstand had a half dozen brown glass bottles sitting on it. It appeared as if this was the bedroom of a sloppy and unsupervised teenager rather than that of a brilliant adult with a doctorate in quantum theory.

Eventually, the rumpled covers of the bed began to move as a man slowly struggled to a standing position. One could see him moving through the dim light as if he was ill or in considerable pain.

Paul Kingsman stood five foot ten and had a well-toned body and flat stomach. He was clean-shaven and tended to keep his hair short. He stumbled to the bathroom, which was located off the bedroom. His head pounded, and his vision was blurred. His mouth had a foul taste and was dry.

Eventually, Paul reached the bathroom and felt for the light switch. He knew he'd made a mistake as soon as he turned it on. The bright light greatly intensified the pounding in his head, and a muffled unhappy groan came from the bed behind him. Switching the lights back off, he stumbled forward in the dark, his night vision now gone.

Fumbling around in the dark, he worked by feel, found the faucet, and got the water running in the sink. He rubbed the cold water on his face several times using his hands. The water caused him to feel a little better. Next, he scooped a couple of handfuls of water to his lips and drank slowly, taking tiny sips. Paul knew better than to drink too much too quickly. Even the two small sips he’d already swallowed were beginning to churn his stomach.

Paul opened the medicine cabinet door and pulled out a small plastic bottle. In the near darkness, he couldn’t read the printed label, but still shook four of the tablets into his hand and swallowed them. As they were going down, he briefly thought about how he hoped the pills had been the Ibuprofen he’d been planning on and not some of Michelle's Midol. He decided he didn’t care and walked unsteadily back to the bedroom.

As he left the bathroom, Michelle brushed past him and, with a grunt of a greeting, shut the bathroom door.

Paul bumped the small nightstand as he returned to the bed and heard several empty glass bottles fall and hit the hardwood floor. Fortunately, it seemed as if none of them broke this time. He collapsed back on the bed and tried to lie as still as possible.

After several minutes the toilet flushed, and the sink started flowing. Paul distinctly heard the sound of the pills shaking around in the plastic bottle as Michelle fought with the childproof cap. Soon she was coming out of the bathroom, and he noticed she was wearing the blue, oversized, knee-length New England Patriots tee shirt that she frequently wore around the house.

When she dropped back down, the water in the mattress caused the whole bed to rock, and he moaned with discomfort as his head started pounding all over again.

“Sorry,” Michelle said in a slightly slurred voice.

Paul grunted a reply that she understood meant he wasn’t genuinely angered.

They lay still, not speaking for several minutes, then Michelle said with a hint of humor, “Do you think we’ll ever learn?”

“It's not as much learning as remembering. Remembering how terrible the next morning feels.”

“Are you still up to going today?” she asked.

Without hesitation, Paul answered, “Definitely, I'll be okay in a couple of hours, I just need some coffee and toast, and then I'll be as good as new. What about you?”

Michelle took a little longer to answer but finally agreed, “Let's not waste the day because we had a little too much to drink last night.”

After several more minutes, they got up, and Michelle returned to the bathroom. This time she endured the bright light as she started the hot water in the shower.

Paul headed to the kitchen and got the container of coffee from the overhead cabinet; he scooped two spoonfuls into the filter compartment of the coffee maker, added water, and hit the power button.

While waiting, Paul went into the office, which was next to the living room, sat at the computer, and checked his email. While there, he also read the news and sports scores.

As he finished reading, the coffee maker beeped, indicating it was ready. He was finishing his first cup when Michelle came out of the bathroom.

“Coffee is ready,” Paul told her as he headed to the shower.

Michelle poured hers and headed to the computer to conduct her own morning ritual that was similar to Paul's but lacked the sports scores.

By the time Paul's shower ended, she had dressed, and there was a plate of dry toast on the table in the kitchen.

Chapter2

Thirty-eight-year-old, Paul Kingsman grew up as an only child in a single-parent home on the north side of Boston. His father, a firefighter with the Boston Fire Department, had developed brain cancer and died when Paul was only seven years old.

His mother, Emma Kingsman, worked hard to provide for her son. She worked long hours as a surgical nurse, she fought to balance the competing needs of her employment and being home for her son.

Even though he had a knack for getting into trouble, Paul excelled in school. During his high school years, he’d been arrested twice for minor juvenile offenses. Still, he managed to earn an academic scholarship to the University of Washington. While there, he completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in Quantum Mechanics. A few years later, he finished his doctoral studies at Berkley.

While at Berkley, Paul met Maureen Kraft, who was working on her Master's degree in Psychology. The two began dating, and two years later, they married and had two children, Heather and Adam.

During these years, Paul made some excellent investments with extremely good payoffs. Several were so profitable and well-timed that an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission was started but never turned up anything inappropriate.

Paul's marriage only lasted four years before Maureen left him. She stated his work and education had so absorbed him that she needed something else.

Paul returned to Massachusetts and founded The Kingsman Research Institute. Paul's small fortune from his investments and various grants provided funding for the growing institute.

The Kingsman Research Institute primarily studied Quantum Mechanics and how the barrier between space and time worked.

A year ago, Paul sustained minor injuries to his back and shoulder. This injury resulted from a car driven by Michelle Rogers rear-ending him at a stop light near a shopping mall on the city's north side.

Michelle was a high school math teacher in Boston and was also recently divorced. She was a stocky woman who stood about five foot six inches. She had long brown hair, which she always wore pulled back.

After being married for six years, her doctor told Michelle and her husband Derek that she couldn’t have children despite all they'd tried. Unfortunately, her eggs weren’t healthy and couldn’t be fertilized.

The doctors they followed up with gave them several options, including locating a surrogate egg donor or adoption. While this news crushed Michelle, her husband came up with another plan. He moved out of their home and filed for a divorce.

Eight weeks after finalizing the divorce, Michelle learned from a mutual friend that her ex-husband was an expectant father.

Following the traffic accident, Michelle and Paul began dating. Their divorces had, however, changed their outlook on life. While still committed to his work, Paul took most weekends and evenings off, something he’d never have done before. He also had hired an assistant director of the institute who oversaw much of the ongoing research.

Michelle had also changed. While she once was quite conservative in dress and behavior, she’d become much more relaxed and sometimes almost reckless. This behavior change was one of the things Paul was most attracted to since it fit his personality very closely. He often had difficulty imagining her as she’d been. When she showed him photos of her previous self, Paul couldn’t help feeling like he was looking at a completely different person.

They’d been living together for close to a year, and neither was in any hurry to try marriage again. However, they both thought it was only a matter of time.

Michelle had come to accept that she would never be a mother, and Paul, having two kids already, wasn’t troubled by the idea.

Fortunately, Michelle was extremely fond of Heather and Adam and looked forward to the times when they came to visit almost as much as Paul did.

Chapter3

Michelle and Paul walked out the house's side door and into the two-and-a-half-car-connected garage. The couple was dressed in denim shorts and had sandals on their feet. Michelle's blouse was all white, and she was carrying a large bag over her shoulder. She’d pulled her long brown hair back and held it in place with a clip.

Paul was wearing a red and black striped polo shirt and was pulling a wheeled blue cooler.

Even though the sunlight was not yet harsh, they both already had on their wrap-around sunglasses. Based on how her head still felt, Michelle assumed she’d probably wear them until she got into bed tonight.

Always being security conscious, Paul took his key and secured the deadbolt on the door. After climbing into the navy blue Ford SUV, Paul headed out of the driveway and turned to the left.

“How are you feeling?” Paul asked.

Michelle looked at him with an expression of disgust. “I feel terrible. I haven't felt like this in a couple of months. I need some more coffee. Do you mind stopping?”

“No problem. I could use some too. Do you have any more Ibuprofen in your bag, or should I get some?”

“Don't bother. I brought the whole bottle; you can have all you need.”

“Good,” Paul said with a nod of approval.

After several blocks, they pulled into a Mobil gas station, thankful that the usually busy station had several pumps available. After getting the fuel flowing, Paul went inside to get the drinks. Taking two 24oz cups, he added four pumps of cream to one, then filled both with coffee. When he’d paid for the fuel and coffee, Paul headed back to his vehicle. That’s when he saw Tom Wallace walking confidently toward him.

Tom worked for Paul and served as the assistant director at The Kingsman Research Institute. Over the last few years, they’d become good friends.

Having studied together at the University of Washington, Paul was very impressed with Tom and his ability to beat technical problems down. Tom would work on an issue for as long as it took until he finally had it solved. He often came up with ideas Paul had never considered, and he was usually right. Paul considered him an invaluable asset and partner.

Unlike Paul, Tom didn’t have his Ph.D. Instead, after completing his Master's degree, Tom concentrated his efforts more on working and the family he and his wife had started. Paul reluctantly had to agree Tom had made a better choice. Tom had three amazing kids, and Linda Wallace was a beautiful person, not just physically.

Tom indeed seemed to have the perfect family and marriage.

Paul was at times jealous when he thought about Tom's family situation. If he’d made better choices, he could have had the same thing. Instead, he had an ex-wife and two children that he only got to see about every other month because they lived on the opposite side of the country.

When Paul founded the institute, he hunted Tom down and found him working at a government-run research facility in central California.

Paul offered to double his salary if Tom agreed to come and work at the Kingsman Institute. When Tom finally accepted, Paul paid to move him and his family across the country.

Now, almost three years later, Paul was glad he’d gone to the expense and effort to bring Tom on board. Their research would never have progressed to the point where it had without Tom's involvement. Also, they’d become close friends.

“Hey, Tom. What are you up to this morning?” Paul asked.

As soon as he’d asked it, Paul knew he’d made a mistake. He knew where his friend was heading because Tom was dressed better today than he ever did at work, and it was Sunday.

“How are you doing, Paul? We’re on our way to church, but I needed to get some gas first,” Tom replied.

Paul nodded, “We're heading to the marina. We're going to spend the day on the boat. You should join us. We had a great time last month with you guys.”

Tom replied, “We sure did have a good time. The kids are still talking about it. The weather is perfect, so I suspect you'll have a great day. But we can't go today. By the way, are you feeling okay? You don't look so good?”

Paul grinned, “We did a little too much partying last night, and now we’re paying for it.”

Tom nodded his understanding, “Why don't you and Michelle come with us? The marina and the nice weather will still be there in a few hours.”

Paul chuckled, “You never give up. Do you?”

When Tom didn’t reply immediately, Paul added, “Today is too nice a day to sit in church; I think we’ll stick with the boat.”

“Too bad, but make sure you don't get too much sun. Tomorrow’s a very big day, and I don't want you to be unable to enjoy it because of a sunburn.”

“Agreed, buddy. See ya tomorrow,” Paul said as he climbed back into the SUV and handed Michelle her coffee, which she eagerly accepted.

Paul put the SUV in gear and pulled out of the service station, waving to Tom's family as he passed their Dodge sitting at the pump.

Michelle looked at Paul and smiled, “Was that Tom you were talking to? I heard something about going to church.”

“Yeah, they’re on their way there, and he invited us.”

“Some people never give up. I know you've turned him down dozens of times,” Michelle commented.

“True, but he isn't too annoying about it. He makes it clear where he stands and invites people to go. If you say no, he backs off. Tom’s a good guy, and he means well.”

“That's true; I like him too. I’d have said hi to Linda if I had realized it was them. What was he saying about tomorrow being a big day? I know I can't understand the details about what you do at the institute, but Tom made it sound like tomorrow is something special.”

“It is,” Paul explained. “Tomorrow, we’ll try again to see if we can move something across the time barrier.”

With excitement evident, Michelle responded, “That's amazing. Why didn't you tell me before?”

“I know most of the lab stuff isn't too interesting to you, and I try to leave work at work. Since we’ve tried and failed before, I didn't bother saying anything. But you're right. I should have at least mentioned it. If what we do works, it will be a really big deal.”

As Paul said this, he pulled into the parking lot at the marina, and the conversation stopped.

They unloaded the SUV and headed to Paul's red and white power boat, which was named The Time Machine. Within a few minutes, they’d cast off and soon glided out of the slip and headed into the bay.

Chapter4

When Tom Wallace arrived at the Kingsman Research Institute early the following day and was surprised to see so many other cars already in the parking lot.

The three-story building resided on twenty-five thickly wooded acres, about a half mile off the main road, and was invisible to anyone passing through the area. A river ran along the west edge of the property. It wasn’t uncommon for those working there to see wildlife from their office windows. There were walking trails out back that some of the employees used at lunchtime.

Usually, the first to arrive, Tom found himself unconsciously grinning as he exited his vehicle and headed toward the entrance to the futuristic-looking building. Tom was glad that others on his staff were as excited as he was to begin today's experiments. Tom waved his ID badge in front of the scanner. He heard the audible buzzing as the door lock released to allow him access. In another half hour, these doors would unlock for the day.

While there was a reception desk, it was usually unoccupied. The location of the institute and the fact that this was a private facility meant there were few visitors. Anyone arriving could pick up the phone on the desk, and someone would come down to assist them.

Tom took the escalator up one floor, headed directly for his office, and hung his coat on the back of his door. He then placed his lunch in the small dormitory size refrigerator beside his desk.

Sitting at his desk, Tom forced the feeling of excitement down as he logged into his computer and opened his email.

Tom was working through the last of his messages when Paul burst into his office.

“Tom, I know you've your morning reading to do, but just for today, will you please delay it for a little while? Everyone’s here, and we’re desperate to see the recording. Now let's go!”

Paul turned and left the office.

Tom stood, smiled, and glanced down at the Bible on his desk. Spending some time meditating on the scriptures was essential to his morning. He felt the quiet study time always helped him prepare for the day. But he also had to admit that his excitement would diminish his ability to concentrate today. Since everyone was here early and ready to go, he’d feel guilty making them wait while he had his private time. Tom silently promised to read before lunch and then set off to meet with his team.

As Tom arrived, he heard the anxious chatter coming from those gathered. There was a sudden cheer as he entered the room.

Paul, who was at the front of the room, exclaimed, “Thanks for deciding to join us.” The friendly laughter of everyone in the room drowned out Tom's response.

Tom sat at the head of the room next to Paul, who stood up and said, “Okay, the doors to the lab were locked over the weekend, and I'm the only one with the keys. The computer logs from the security system show that everyone did as I instructed this weekend. No one has attempted to enter this building since Friday afternoon. Also, the security doors at the lab stayed shut this weekend,” Paul continued after a brief pause. “Therefore, we can safely say the experiment we did, or will do later this afternoon, was uncompromised,” Paul waited as the excitement in the room grew. “Before we begin, I’m sure Tom has a few words for all of you.”

Tom stood and surveyed the group and spoke, “I don't know if the experiment was successful, but if so,” pausing for effect, Tom continued, “In just minutes, we might see the results of an experiment that we won't even conduct for several hours.” This idea was nothing they all didn’t already know, but just the concept of it made the room go silent as they all contemplated this fact again.

Tom sat back down, and Paul opened the video file on the computer beside him. The data resided on the server in the basement that held all the recorded security feeds. After several seconds, Paul called out to the room, “Here we go.”

Moments later, the large LED screen mounted on the front wall lit up, and the image of the lab came into sharp focus. The time stamp, showing 1:01 AM Sunday, was visible in the lower right-hand corner. The picture was clear, and nothing was moving. There were workstations and various pieces of equipment visible in the background.

No one in the room was breathing as they stared intently at the LED screen. After almost a full minute, there was a collective gasp from the team. One second, everything looked the same as seconds before, and then instantly, there was a strange object in the middle of the room. It appeared like a rugged four-wheeled utility cart with several laptop computers hooked to it. There was a central piece of equipment with flashing lights and a digital screen.

At soon as the cart appeared, the motion-activated lights in the room came on, briefly corrupting the video until the camera adjusted.

Two identical video cameras were attached to the cart. The first was mounted on a short tripod and slowly rotated 360 degrees, revolving and filming the whole room. The other camera pointed directly at the screen of one of the two laptop computers. The cart-mounted instrument package sat still, recording while the top camera rotated for two complete revolutions, and then as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.

The entire room exploded into applause. There was yelling and cheering. People were standing on chairs and exchanging high-fives with each other.

After several seconds, Paul stood and called out, “Okay, that's enough!” The mayhem decreased, and he continued, “Remember, people, you're congratulating yourselves for something you haven't even done yet.” He continued, “We’ll watch the tape again. Then we need to get to work. We still have to get Clyde tested, recharged, and send him back in time thirty-six hours.”

Everyone retook their seats, and the recording played again. The team watched carefully, looking for any unexpected events they’d missed when first viewing the video.

Again they saw the cart, nicknamed Clyde, containing the instrument package, appear on the screen. Paul backed the recording up a couple of seconds. Then he ran it forward again, this time advancing it as slowly as possible. After about thirty seconds, they came upon the moment.

Clyde wasn't there, and one-tenth of a second later, he’d appeared. It was instantaneous. There was no flash of light or the image of it fading into focus. It was instantly there.

Chapter5

Clyde began his existence as a rugged-duty industrial equipment cart, which the team heavily modified. He had oversized pneumatic tires, which were about ten inches in diameter. The cart was four feet wide and five feet long and stood just over three feet tall. There was a flat surface on top. A metal box was sitting in the center of the surface, taking up most of it. It had numerous indicator lights and digital readouts. The computers which held the data for the time jumps were contained within this box. Also in there was the secret technology that allowed Clyde to communicate with the actual time machine permanently located in the institute's basement, even when he traveled to a different time. A shelf below, just above the wheels, held four deep-cycle marine batteries. These provided all of Clyde's power when he wasn’t plugged in.

While it was true, Clyde was the first to make the trip to the past and back successfully again; he wasn’t the first to try.

When Paul first began working on the idea of moving something or someone back in time, there were many obstacles to overcome. He had always envisioned a standalone time ship to carry people from one time period to another.

As the research progressed, it became clear there were so many serious problems with the plan that it became highly impractical. First, his time machine would need enormous amounts of power. It would need to have that energy available when it was in the past, where external electricity might not be possible. There were only a couple of ways to overcome these issues. One would require a massive diesel generator, making the time ship enormous and loud. That wasn’t practical for slipping into a past time period and back unnoticed. The other option was a small nuclear reactor. While a reactor would be silent and more portable, Paul tried but couldn’t get his hands on one for this project. The regulations and safety concerns would never allow it.

Paul knew he had to come up with a different approach. At the time when these challenges were being worked out, was when he brought Tom on board. Together they took the problem apart and realized the massive amount of energy and most of the hardware involved was for calculating the matrix and creating the portal to the past. Once they accomplished that goal, the team found the portal could be maintained as long as there was something on the other side to help hold it open.

Instead of sending the time machine to the past, it could remain in the present, open the portal, and send a small, low-power device through. Together the two machines would hold the gateway between time periods open, and the remote system could initiate the transit back at the given time. This change removed the need for a bulky, possibly loud device to travel to the past.

Because of this revelation, most of the early work centered on the device they built in the institute's basement. The team controlled it from the lab, and it did the heavy work of opening the portal to the past.

As this work progressed, Paul’s engineers built the first remote system. It was an early version of Clyde and sat on a lab bench. The team nicknamed the device Mona.

No sooner was Mona created than the team noticed the problems. It wasn’t portable and could never carry a person to the past. However, with the use of Mona and the systems in the basement, they were able to open a portal to the past. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get a clear understanding of what time period it opened into.

This first success excited the team, and they reworked many processes, including rebuilding the device which would move through the portal. This time Paul and his team built the machine on a utility cart. It was far more portable than Mona and corrected many of her defects. This unit was named Wally. Early tests went better, and eventually, they decided it was time to send Wally back a day in time. Wally arrived at the correct time, but the location calculations needed refining. No one is sure of the exact location Wally arrived, but it was somewhere over the lab. It could have been one hundred feet in the air or a thousand. Either way, The 250-pound Wally crashed through the institute's roof and was found in pieces all over the spot where he departed from. On the night Wally made his historic jump, it was heavily raining, and water poured in through the gaping hole in the roof. The destruction of the device and damage to the work area of the lab set the efforts into time travel back eight months.

This setback didn’t deter any of them because they’d succeeded in sending an object back in time, just not as planned. The project team pushed on working to refine the process and rebuild the remote device. This time they built a much more rugged machine. Four seats could be added or removed to allow multiple remote cameras or other equipment to be mounted. After much debate, this remote was named Clyde.

Chapter6

Everyone set off for the lab after repeatedly viewing and reviewing the recording. A lot of work remained to be completed before Clyde could make his historic but brief journey.

Tom, with the help of several technicians, began powering up Clyde. Over the next several minutes, the equipment that made up the time-traveling Clyde came to life. Power and computer cables ran from terminals built into the wall and connected to the various pieces of equipment on the cart.

Paul ran the final calibrations and tested the batteries to ensure they had a full charge. The video cameras were checked several times. No one wanted to repeat this work because of a misconfigured camera. After over an hour of preparation, Tom Wallace took a small remote control transmitter. He steered Clyde as he slowly rolled to the center of the room.