The Traveler Part One

This is the beginning of a story that's forming inside my mind.  This is the first part.

The Traveler

The man patted down the sides of his lab coat and took a deep breath.  Clenching his eyes shut, he reached out to the door knob with his hand and slowly turned it.  Quietly pushing the door open, he took a step into the room, his eyes still closed.  When no sound was made, he reluctantly opened them.

Inside the room, rich with stained wood and old paintings, sat a rather large desk.  The desk covered a rather old green carpet, which many of the man's coworkers knew all too well from staring at it for long periods of time.  Before the desk sat two uncomfortable old wooden chairs, which were perhaps as much as 150 years old from most estimates.  There, many an employee had sat listening to the boss' tirades, or in some cases, being fired.

Much to the scientist's surprise, the man at the desk had not noticed his entrance.  He was enthralled by some sort of report on his desk.  The surface was scattered with paper and random electronics, but this one piece of paper held more interest than any other paper, computer, book, wood grain, or man within the room.

It took every ounce of courage the scientist could muster to make a sound announcing his existence.  Mr. Kipling raised his head without moving his eyes from the paper.

"Yes, Ms. Jones?"

Kipling thought it was his secretary at the door.  It was then that Dr. Alphin realized he hadn't knocked.  He cleared his throat to speak.

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Kipling."

Kipling looked away from his paper, his brow creasing in disgust.

"Alphin.  Didn't they teach you knocking at those expensive universities you attended?  Or about making an appointment?  How dare you waltz in here like you own the place!"

"Sir, I-"

"Don't try to excuse yourself, Alphin.  What gives you the right to invade my personal work space like this?"

"Mr. Kipling-"

"Ms. Jones!  Ms. Jones, come in here at once."

"Sir, I think she's-"

"You'd better shut your mouth if you know what's good for you, Alphin.  It's not like you've been here for very long.  If you're wishing to seek opportunity elsewhere, I can definitely make that a necessity for you."

"Sir!"

"Keep talking, Doctor, and keep digging your own grave."

"Sir, if you would just stop for a moment!"

"Oh, you're definitely looking for other opportunities outside the company, aren't you?"

"PLEASE LISTEN TO ME! I'VE DONE IT!"

Dr. Alphin found himself breathing quickly.  His pulse was fast, and he could feel adrenaline coursing through his body.

"Done what, Alphin?"

"Sir, I've solved the last problem.  It's working now."

"Bullshit.  You did this?"

"Yes, sir."

"All by yourself?"

"Well, I had fifteen years of prior research to go off of, but yes, I solved the final block."

"Are you being serious, Doctor?"

"Quite, Mr. Kipling.  It works."

"Holy shit."  Kipling looked down at his desk.  The confusion on his face was quite evident.  He looked up.  "Really?"

"Yes, sir.  But there was something unexpected."

"Show me."

"Sir, you might want to know-"

"Show me right now, Dr. Alphin.  I need to see it."  Kipling stood up from his desk and briskly walked past Dr. Alphin and through the door.

Alphin whispered to himself, "It wasn't what we thought it would be..."

* * *

Kipling had left Dr. Alphin behind.  He had to see the mechanism at work, and he had no time to waste on slow walkers.

When Kipling entered the lab, he expected to see everyone fluttering about.  They did that whenever he came through the door.  If nothing else, if the mechanism was finally active after all these years, he would have expected them to be running around trying to record measurements and observations.

But none of this was happening.  All of the scientists within the lab were standing silently, facing the mechanism.

"Clear a path people!"  Kipling pushed people aside, trying to make his way through the crowd.  No one seemed to notice that the man all of them loathed was coming through.  On any other day, they would have scattered like cockroaches, but today they stood still.

Kipling was confused, to say the least.  He commanded a certain type of respect, and whatever was happening was undermining that authority.

As Kipling made it through the crowd, he noticed a man in front of the mechanism.

Emerging through the crowd, he came upon the most terrified man he'd ever seen.

Standing there, at the observation station, stood a man in loose off-white robes.  A sash of some sort separated his robes below the waist, and he stood on leather soles strapped to his feet.  His beard showed signs of graying, but enough brown remained to give him a slightly youthful appearance.  The look on his face was that of pure horror.  He seemed to feel as out of place as he looked.  He was screaming something in a language Kipling couldn't make out.

"Who is this man?" Kipling asked.  No one answered.  They all appeared to be in shock.

Turning to the man, he asked, "What is your name, and why are you dressed like that?"

The man responded with words Kipling could not understand.

"Speak English!  Who is your supervisor?"

"He won't understand you, sir," said Dr. Alphin from behind.  As Kipling turned, the scientist emerged through the crowd.

"And why is that Alphin?"

"Because, sir, he's not from here."

"That certainly seems to be the case!"

"No, sir, you don't understand.  He's not from here.  He's not from this time and place."

"What do you mean, Doctor?"

"Sir, this man came through the mechanism.  From sometime before Common Era, maybe 50BC."

"Dr. Alphin, this isn't a funny joke."

"It's no joke, sir.  It's real."

"Bullshit, Doctor.  I may not be as smart as the rest of you, but I at least know my theory.  Time travel will only be possible from the moment it's discovered and into the future.  We could never travel to the past because time travel wouldn't have existed, which is a paradox."

"Technically, you're right, Mr. Kipling."

"So why the charade, Alphin?"

"No charades, and no jokes, sir.  The man behind you comes to us from the past because we're not the first to open the gate, so to speak."

Kipling looked confused again.  "What?"

Alphin stood closer to his boss.  "Sir, as far as we can tell, time travel was invented more than two thousand years ago."

Kipling stood in silence as his face winced.  His eyes began to flutter.  Dr. Alphin moved forward, but wasn't quick enough to catch the boss as he fell.  The man slumped to the floor.  Despite the disgust most people had for him, a few people moved to pick him up.  Moments later, Kipling lay on a lab table, breathing deeply.