Time Teavel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book 17

Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club

Robert P McAuley

Book 17

Trouble In Time

Published by Robert P. McAuley and Smashwords

Copyright 2019 by Robert P. McAuley

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The Premise

The Time Travel Adventures Of The 1800 Club is a 21 st Century haven for people seeking to escape New York City’s frantic pace. Dressed in clothes their ancestors might have worn during the 1800s, members enjoy foods of the period and read periodicals featuring news of a particular date in the 1800s. However, the 1800 Club also has an astounding secret . . . Time Travel. Members travel back in time nudging famous persons and key events just enough to ensure history unfolds, as it should. Guardians-of-the-past, living in the future, send robotic probes back through the ages, discovered that, at critical time-junctures, pivotal figures stray from vital tasks and actions. These Time Watchers of the past can’t go back and fix the glitch in the timeline because the atmosphere they breathe has been cleaned up over the years and the air of the past is almost unbreathable for them. Then an 1800 Club member from the 2000s are sent back to guarantee that events get back on track. The 1800 Club’s members aid Lincoln, Roosevelt, Bat Masterson, Mark Twain and many others. Without subtle interventions by these unknown agents, the famous might have been only footnotes, rather than giants of history.

Dear reader, I once read a time travel book where the main character went back over one hundred years in the past to retrieve an object from a house. He entered the house, picked up the object and brought it back to his time. To me it was upsetting that he took us back in time and never once said anything about the house! Never described anything! He might as well have just gone back to a park where things never change. That is why I try to bring the reader along with me as I travel through time. RPM

Trouble In Time

DATELINE: JULY 29, 2071 PLACE: HISTORY WATCHERS CONFERENCE ROOM, NEW YORK CITY

Alexis Shuntly sat in front of the hologram viewer in the History Watcher’s conference room. For the fleeting moment that the viewer’s screen went black she saw her green eyes peering back at her through her thick glasses.

Darn, she thought as she patted down her jet-black hair, which stuck out like a porcupine’s quills, this is one of those days that seemed to be loaded with static electricity.

The screen came alive as the hologram she had just dropped in began to play out. As she usually did, Alexis wrote down the date, time and location that were displayed on the bottom right hand side of the screen.

August 4, 1919, 9:15 A.M. Lexington Avenue, New York City Explosion.

According to the information displayed, the hologram was taken from three hundred and sixteen feet above ground level by a pigeon drone that glided in front of the building it was scanning.

The sudden explosion filled her screen with broken glass and flying bricks as an apartment in the building blew up. A large quantity of dynamite, which was being used to construct a bomb to blow up John D. Rockefeller's home in Tarrytown, NY, exploded prematurely in the new seven-story model apartment building. The history books stated that the blast destroyed most of the top three floors of the building, killing three conspirators and another renter who was not part of the bomb plot.

Although Alexis knew the explosion was going to take place she still recoiled at the sudden burst of flames, smoke and debris.

The pigeon drone circled the scene as fire trucks and other emergency vehicles arrived. It landed on a lamppost and scanned the crowd as it was programmed to do.

After thirty minutes of scanning, the drone took off and returned to the garden at the rear of 542 East Second Street where it landed on the shoulder of Ted Mehan, the head of the Hologram/Drone Division of The History Watcher’s Group.

Ted returned to the ‘Drone Room’ as he called it and downloaded the pigeon’s audio and visual scanners onto a hologram. Next he delivered it to the History Watcher’s conference room where he knew one of the reviewers was on duty.

He tapped once on the door before opening it and knowing that whoever was on duty would be looking at one of the previous holograms he had delivered, entered and placed the newest hologram in the ‘In’ basket. He then turned and left the room.

Now looking at the scene of the explosion, Alexis shook her head, Even after 150 years the scene still sickens me.

She watched as firemen entered the burning building carrying heavy hoses over their shoulders and policemen held back the gathering crowd. The people were looking up as debris continued to fall and a brick slammed into the sidewalk just feet away from a young man. He quickly turned and ran away as Alexis thought, Smart man. Why stay in that danger zone and get killed by a falling brick.

There was a tap on the door and hoping it was the lunch she ordered from the commissary she stopped the hologram and opened the door.

Standing there was Maryellen Muldey, her reliever. She was carrying a bundle along with a shopping bag.

Hi, Maryellen, Let me help you.

Thanks, Alexis. I saw the girl from the commissary heading towards the door with a package and figured it was your lunch so I took it from her. She rolled her eyes, Smells good.

Grilled cheese with bacon and tomato. Want half?

Maryellen shook her head, which made her white with blue highlights pageboy hair flop back and forth. Nope! Thanks anyway. However I have a ham and cheese sandwich in my bag along with a coke and I’d love to join you.

Come on in and we’ll chat before you go on duty.

Maryellen sat next to Alexis and they both opened their lunches. The new comer looked at the frozen screen and asked, Anything happening?

Alexis said as she knocked on the mahogany wood table, Knock on wood, no. All seems well in hologram land. In fact I haven’t had a ‘Hiccup in time’ in a few weeks so I’m on a roll.

Maryellen took a bite of her lunch and glanced at the frozen screen. The Lexington Avenue explosion, right? Not sure if that one ever came across the desk on my watch, but I read about it. Care to brief me for my future reference?

Sure. A few terrorists built a bomb to kill John D. Rockefeller but the bomb exploded prematurely. It killed them and some innocent people.

Maryellen tilted her head towards the frozen screen, Looks like it almost got that guy too. She squinted at the screen and offered; I’d say the date was around 1880. Right?

Alexis took a bite of her sandwich as she turned the enlargement dial to show the date, No, she answered, 1919.

Maryellen sat forward to look closer at the screen, Will you enlarge the screen some more and focus on the guy running away.

Alexis once again turned the dial as she zoomed in on the man and froze the frame just as he stopped to look back.

Look at his clothing. That’s why I thought the hologram was 1880s or maybe the 1890s. He’s wearing a Cutaway coat, which became popular in the late 1800s, it was also known as a Morning or Swallowtail coat. Also the five-button vee-front vest with flat lapels was from the late 1800s. But the give-away is the wide cravat and bent white collar. See what I mean?

Oh yes, I do see what you mean. She shrugged her shoulders and took another bite of her sandwich. No big deal. He’s probably a waiter for a nearby restaurant or something.

She moved the cursor up a bit and they saw his face. His dark brown wavy hair and well-trimmed handlebar mustache as well as his thick sideburns were in the style of the late 1800s. The two ladies smiled as the hologram showed his high cheekbones and deep blue eyes looking back at them over the years. In one hand he carried a short walking stick and in the other a tall dress hat.

I’m sure, said Maryellen, he’s from a restaurant that requires a late 1800 attire.

Alexis nodded and added, Or perhaps he’s a doorman to an elegant hotel.

There was a tap at the door and John Hyder stuck his head in, Hey am I disturbing anyone?

Both women looked up. No, John, answered Alexis with a wave, we’re just looking at a hologram as we eat lunch.

He entered and closed the door behind him. Just wanted to check a fact or two on the big computer. I won’t hang around and disturb you two.

No problem, said Maryellen. In fact you can enter the guessing game, Alexis and me are having: Is this gentleman a waiter or maybe in an 1800s play?

He came around the table and looked at the still frozen hologram. He pursed his lips and after a moment said, According to the info on the hologram this is 1919, right?

Yep, right you are, John.

He tugged on one of his long blond and gray sideburns as he stood looking at the screen. Boy I feel like I’ve seen him before. Let me think a moment. He paced the room for a few moments, stopped and looked at the man again. Can’t remember. He shrugged and added, Oh well, let me use the computer and I’ll leave you two alone.

The ladies ate their lunch as John used the group’s powerful computer and left inside of ten minutes.

As he stepped into his AirCar in front of the building he remembered where he had seen that man in the hologram before. He left the vehicle and ran up to the conference room again. He knocked and threw the door open.

Do you still have that hologram?

Both women looked up at him before Alexis answered, Yes. It’s in the finished basket. Why, John?

Please just humor me. Let me take another look at that guy.

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