To the Future

By: Audrey Yeung

The cold wind seeped through the tiny window near the ceiling. No, the window was shut. Like always. The wind was coming from the air conditioner. Much less pleasant.

“Doctor.” The sharp voice pierced through my trance.

“Yes?” I asked, glancing toward the general direction of the voice.

“It’s ready.”

It’s ready. The culmination of seventeen years of work was ready. I could hardly contain myself as Doctor Stevenson gently placed an apple in the centre of the platform. There were two round platforms, positioned a few metres away from each other, a mess of wires and flashing lights connected to the dozens of ports.

“Before we begin, I want to make a toast. To the future!” I announced, raising my mug of coffee.

“To the future!” The other scientists exclaimed, raising whatever they had nearby.

“This is Transportation Device test #1. Commencing.” I said, exhaling shakily.

As Doctor Garnier twisted knobs, Doctor Lee checked the display for anomalies, and I moved my hand toward the lever. I held my breath and pushed the lever upwards. Everyone in the room held their breaths while a soft whirring filled the air. A sharp flash of light engulfed the apple and when it ceased, the apple was gone. Another flash appeared and the apple materialised at the centre of the other platform. My eyes widened. It worked. My hands started shaking, and everyone around me didn’t move.

“It worked. This is going to revolutionise the world of science!” Lee exclaimed, his voice echoing through the collective shock. Then, people started moving rapidly, shouting with joy, eager to conduct more tests. And then, I noticed it. The apple was different. I picked it up carefully. A bite had been taken out of it. A bite that wasn’t there before. It was right there, plain as day. The other scientists turned to me, seeing what I saw, and the silence returned.

“How… how could that have happened?” Stevenson stammered. No one had an answer for him.

Suddenly, sparks started shooting from the side of one of the platforms. Doctor McCoy rushed to a control panel to identify the problem, and it didn’t take long to find it.

“There’s a plasma coolant leak! We need to get out of here right now!”

Garnier bolted for the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Security protocols have been auto-initiated, the door’s not going to open,” McCoy said. “It doesn’t look like we’re getting out of here.”

I glanced up at the small window. It was going to be hard enough to get up there, and there was an extremely low chance that any of us would fit through. Everyone around me was frantically trying to find a way out, trying to shut down the security protocols, trying to stop the leak. None of it was working.

“I’d estimate we have 6 minutes left before the leak spreads and we all die.” McCoy calls. My head started spinning and my heart started pounding. It was the only way. I stepped onto the platform.

“Doctor, what are you doing? It’s not safe up there, you need to get down!” Stevenson exclaimed.

“Doctor Lee, can’t you configure the Transporter to transport us anywhere else? Anywhere but here?” I asked, ignoring Stevenson.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Lee replied. “But Doctor, you don’t know what will happen if several people are in the Transporter. You saw what happened to the apple!”

“It’s our only hope. All you need to worry about is configuring the Transporter. Everyone else, get on the platform,” Everyone looked at the Transporter tentatively, but then realising that it was the only way we could possibly get out of the lab. They joined me on the platform, while Lee tapped away at the console. I started coughing, and everyone began to as well. We were running out of time. The leak was starting to affect us. Doctor Walsh collapsed.

“45 seconds until we’re all dead,” McCoy warned. “Lee, if it’s ready, this would be a great time to get out of here.”

Lee didn’t reply and continued to focus on the console. Each second felt like an hour. My muscles felt weak, and I had a hard time standing. Lee pushed the lever upwards and quickly joined us on the platform.

Blinding blue light encapsulated all of us, and I shielded my eyes. When the light disappeared, we were no longer in the lab.

Bustling crowds of people hurried past us, the sun shining on the silver road. Only, not everyone was human. Within the crowd, were floating blue machines with faces. It was unlike anything we’d ever seen. The cars that stopped while people crossed the road had no wheels and tires. Instead, they hovered slightly above the ground, and when they moved, no sound was made. Garnier watched the cars drive past with great interest and wide eyes.

“Doctor, where are we?” Garnier asked hoarsely. My coat pocket felt heavy, and I realised I’d forgotten that I put the apple there. I removed it, and it was now just a core.

“The transporter,” I replied under my breath. “It took us… to the future.”