Trevor Jones finds that he has been abducted to share in a research project with beings from the future while his existence on earth is frozen in time.
No Time at All
Trevor Jones is given the opportunity to travel back in time and relive the lives of people who we know existed, but about whom we have very little accurate knowledge. He chooses to try to understand the origins of the human species on earth, and finds out more that he bargained for! The revelations are amazing! How did mankind get its start on this planet? Who are the technologically advanced colonisers who brought genetic engineering to Earth and where are they now? What secrets may still be uncovered by archaeologists? Who was Horus? Was he a god or a mortal? Why were Sodom and Gomorrah obliterated? What role did Abraham play? Who were Suen and Ishkur? How did the Israelites escape from Egypt? Why did Judas betray Jesus? Answers to these questions and many more are revealed to Trevor Jones as he enters the minds of some of the main characters in Earth’s turbulent past – and the most amazing thing is that it takes ‘No Time at All!’
Excerpt
‘The human brain has an enormous storage capacity. It is estimated to have in excess of 100 trillion synapses. Unfortunately this is not matched by its retrieval system. Put another way, the limited access to its remarkable storage is the most disappointing aspect of the human mind.’
‘Every single change in electrochemical potential of every single neuro-transmitter in your mind has been recorded in memory. If you can't remember a particular event or name, it has not slipped from your mind. It only means that you can't retrieve the memory by conscious effort at a particular time. A memory often returns during a period of relaxation, or when you are not consciously trying to remember it.’
‘It is our job to help you to recall every one of those memories from the beginning of your mind's existence until the present. We will record those memories in our data banks for the purpose of our research.’
Kevin paused, waiting for a response or reaction from me. I let the silence grow. Once again he was the first to break it.
‘Well, what do you think of the programme?’ he asked, finally.
‘It sounds like a waste of effort,’ I said candidly. ‘I have not lived a particularly exciting life. Perhaps you should pick another, more interesting subject,’ I added hopefully.
Kevin was not taking the bait.
I gathered myself for an appeal to reason.
‘Now Kevin, let's try to be realistic, your story is as full of holes as Swiss cheese. Admit this is a big hoax! We can have a laugh, sink a couple of frosties and get on with our lives!’
Kevin’s face didn't reflect any change in emotion.
‘I understood that you were prepared to accept my explanation in order to expedite the process. Please do not renege on your offer.’
He looked almost hurt that I should even consider breaking my promise. He pressed on.
‘I will explain further,’ he said. ‘The process of recording your memories is achieved electronically. Our computers can replicate the total storage capacity of a human brain. This requires a huge electronic memory. We have improved on the natural retrieval system. Once a memory is in our computer, we can retrieve selected items in the smallest fraction of a second. You will be required to undergo a painless procedure to insert hair fine electrodes into your brain. The electrodes will be connected to the computer.’
‘Under light hypnosis our psychologist will prompt you to recall a certain event that occurred at a particular time in your life. The act of recalling the event will identify a certain active area of your brain related to that time. With the help of the computer, the entire sequence in and around that area will be read and recorded in the computer. This will be done many times.’
‘There are several other sequences, each providing an overlay to your memories. When all these mental contours are recovered we will have replicated the mind of Trevor Gordon Jones, aged 48 years, resident of England, visiting South Africa, in your year 2009CE.’
‘The total processing time for all of these investigations is approximately ten earth days.’
This was an incredibly elaborate hoax. Now they were proposing to knock me out and stick pins in my head so they could copy my brain! This guy didn't lack imagination! But there was one question that I had to ask.
‘Why me?’
‘You are not a special case,’ said Kevin, ‘we have the mind recordings of hundreds of thousands of humans from Earth and its colonies from your past and your future. It’s all part of our data base.’
He said that as if it explained everything. In fact it explained nothing! I interjected with considerable frustration.
‘Every time you answer a question, you generate more questions. Let me ask you this. Why pick on the planet Earth? What colonies are you talking about? How can you extract people from the future? Why do you still remain silent about your own identity?’
It was incredible how this guy kept his cool. He appeared to ponder for a moment, and then said,
‘I am permitted to answer only one of those questions, the other answers will be provided in due course. The question I can address is how we select people from your future.’
‘Your universe and mine do not share the same time, but our universes touch at certain points where a discontinuity in the fabric of either universe exists. You call them black holes. The laws of physics do not apply at these black holes. We make use of this quirk of nature to contact your universe at any time in your past and in your future.’
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Reviews for "No Time at All"
Reviewed by Chris Berman
1/31/2009
WOW! This seems to be a very cool book. I like stories like this, paradox event stories and human origin stories. One of my favorite authors is James P. Hogan and this excerpt has a similar feel to it. I like it alot!
