Sam Beckett leaps into the body of Dr. Donald Harding, a theoretical
physicist, who has come to Loch Ness where his son is trying to prove
the existence of the fabled Nessie and where Sam encounters a strangely
familiar young woman who holds the key to Sam's own future.
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Review by
MJ Cogburn AKA "QLDamsel"
Actually,
since it took me a day and a half to read with breaks throughout for
reality, it held my attention well. It was the disappearance of Sammy
Jo that did it. I wanted and needed to know what happened to her. Where
did a person of her high IQ go? What would she do? The answer and her
predicament surprised me but with the background that she missed it did
make a lot of sense. Kudos to a good read. Yes, the ending is
predictable, however, how it leads up to it is very well written. If
you get a chance… curl up on the couch one lazy afternoon and read it!
Most definitely a recommender!
ISBN # 1-57297-231-9
Printing
History: Boulevard
Edition / July 1997
Cover Artby: Stephen Gardner
Dedications: This book was dedicated to the memory of
Thorne B.
A Boulevard
Book / Published by arrangement with MCA Publishing Rights, a Division
of Universal Studios, Inc.
Summary
from back cover:
Dr. Donald
Harding, theoretical physicist, believes only in science. His son
Travis believes in the unbelievable.
It’s March
of 1986 when Sam leaps into Harding, who has come to Loch Ness, where
his son is attempting to prove to him the existence of the fabled
monster. Ziggy says that there is a fifty percent chance that Sam is
there to keep the two from becoming permanently estranged.
But Sam
suspects that there is something more to the leap – something
concerning Travis Harding’s girlfriend, an oddly familiar young woman
who calls herself Dixie Fuller.
Sam is
right. He is not at Loch Ness for Donald Harding’s son – he is there
for his own daughter. And what he does will be the key to her future –
as well as his own…
Acknowledgements
given:
Thanks on
this one go to Ginger Buchanan for writing all these months and for
being such a gem to work with; to Merrilee Heifitz for shaking her head
and going with this; to Nina Kiriki Hoffman for all those nights of
pizza and Leap; to Jerry and Kathy Oltion for scouting locations and
for the photos; to Donald Bellasario, Deborah Pratt, Dean Stockwell,
and Scott Bakula for putting on a show entertaining, thought-provoking,
and heartfelt.
Leap Date: March 14, 1986
Place: Loch Ness, Scotland
Sam
Leaped Into: Dr. Donald
Harding, Theoretical Physicist
Projected
Leap Outcome: It is
predicted that Sam is there to prevent Donald Harding’s son and his son
from being estranged. Ziggy is at a 50 percent probability that the
estrangement caused Donald Harding to commit suicide in 1992.
Regular
Characters Involved In The Story:
Dr. Sam
Beckett
Admiral
Albert Calavicci
Tina
Martinez-O’Farrell
Dr. Verbena
Beeks
Dr. Samantha
Josephine Fuller
Gooshie
Ziggy
Guest
Characters Involved In The Story
Donald
Harding
"Dixie"
Fuller
Travis
Harding
Steven
Mrs. Comyn
Angus MacNab
Police
Officer
Guards At
The Complex
A US Marshall
Favorite
Quote from the Book:
"Oh, of
course it’s a game. And Travis is just like you, tryin’ to trick you in
to believin’ in the monster. You’re tryin’ to see if I believe in
ghosts. Well, maybe I would if he looked like a ghost. Instead, he
looks like he belongs on an ‘Oprah’ episode for the fashion-impaired."
Favorite
Scene from the Book:
"We need to
find Dr. Beckett."
"Find him?"
Al raised his head. She had gotten his attention this time. "He’s on
Loch Ness on March 14, 1986. We didn’t lose him. We just lost the
hookup."
"Technically,
Admiral, that is correct," Ziggy said. "But our time has just changed.
We do not know if Dr. Beckett’s has too. If he has leaped, we have no
way of knowing."
"We sure
do," Al said. "We check the Waiting Room. If Donald Harding is still
there, Sam’s still in Loch Ness."
"Forgive me,
Admiral," Ziggy said, "but it is not that simple. Dr. Beckett changed
history. He might still be living Dr. Harding’s life, but we no longer
have any guarantee that Dr. Harding is in Loch Ness. After all, there
were four people in this room only a few moments ago."
"Four?"
Gooshie asked.
"Four," Al
said. "You, me, Tina and Dr. Whatshername."
"Fuller,"
Ziggy said. "Dr. Samantha Fuller."
He leaned
forward. "There’s something I don’t get," he said. "If Sam changed the
past, then how come we can’t reach him now? Things have changed. Things
are different. Whatever caused the block in the time line should have
cleared up, right? I mean, after all, we’ve been doing the Project now
for years, and Dr. Beckett has been leaping all this time. If Dr.
Whatshername…"
"Fuller,"
Ziggy and Gooshie said in unison.
"… is really
gone, then the changes should have been made, and we should be able to
reach Sam."
Suits
that Al wore:
Neon blue
silk with white shoes and white belt
Red suit
with Red Shoes
Green and
blue suit with a gold pocket.
Background
Information:
This
information is Quantum Leap cannon as based on the Trilogy:
On August 8,
1955, Sam Beckett leaped into Sheriff Clayton Fuller, father of Abigail
and husband of Laura. He is there for Abagail – a young girl accused by
a local townswoman, Leta Aider, of killing her husband, Bart and
daughter, Violet. Leta is the only survivor of her family and believes
that Abagail’s family is cursed.
Abagail’s
mother, Laura is living in an asylum because of the mental afflictions
accosting her. Her brothers and sisters were asleep one night and she
slipped in the crack of the bed and was underneath the bed when her
momma came into the room and killed kids then slit her own throat. All
she could remember was the sound and feel of the "rain" as it fell. We
assume that this was actually the blood from her family. She must have
heard it all. This affliction caused her anguish and she was placed in
the asylum. Since this happened, people in the town believe that
Abagail is also "cursed" by her mothers afflictions.
It’s during
this leap that Sam becomes attached with Abagail, telling her that he’d
always be there for her to help her. He saves her from a fire started
in her own house when Leta Aider knocked over an oil burning lamp, but
in the process of saving her life, Clayton Fuller is unable to get out
of the house and dies in the fire.
In the
second part of a three-part saga, Sam leaps yet again into the life of
Abagail Fuller. On June 14, 1966, he leaped into her soon-to-be husband
Will Kinman. Sam begins to fall for Abagail himself and seems to become
totally engrossed in needing and wanting her. However, Sam finds
himself in harms way when an angry lunch mob led by Leta Aider may hang
her if Sam doesn’t find the runaway child, Tavis Perkins, that Abagail
was babysitting the night before. Sam is able to save Abagail from the
mob, but before he leaves, he tells her plainly that he loves her and
no matter what happens in the future to remember that.
In the third
part of this saga, Sam leaps yet again into Abagail’s life to save her
from being sent to the electric chair for murder. He leaps into Larry
Stanton III, a lawyer to defend the rights of this woman falsely
accused. Secrets are revealed. He learns that Samantha Josephine Fuller
was his daughter. When he learned that Laura was still alive, he went
to see her. Laura also seemed to recognize Sam… and she knew that the
past had to be revealed. Laura, Sammy Jo’s grandmother knew of what
happened with Violet Aider and the little golden locket that Violet had
taunted her with. Now, we know how Violet Aider died – she fell to her
death in the well. As for Leta Aider – the woman was distraught by
learning that she couldn’t blame the murder of her daughter or her
husband on Abagail that she had a temper tantrum at Abagail’s house,
then in a fit of frustration and agony, she slit her own throat. Sammy
Jo Fuller, the only other person in the house at the time, had seen the
whole incident and said so during the trial. Sam saved the day once
again… and asked how they were going to be. He then learned that Sammy
Jo Fuller was working with Project Quantum Leap and had a theory on how
to get him home.
Now that you
have a background… a word of:
!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!
This review
of Loch Ness has spoilers in it following this warning. If you do not
want the book spoiled do not read any further. If you have already read
the story and you just want to recap on each chapter then by all means
read on and enjoy.
!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!
Quotes
and summary from each chapter:
Chapter
One
Hame, hame, hame, hame fain wad I be
O, hame,
hame, hame, to my ain countrie!
- Allan
Cunningham
March 14,
1986
The leap in
is a rough one. Sam leaps on to a lake in a small boat during a storm.
The motor on the boat has failed and a burly man with a thick Gaelic
accent is rowing back to shore. Around Sam’s neck is a large, bulky
camera wrapped in plastic. Grabbing another set of oars in the bottom
of the boat, Sam begins to help him back to the shore but is quickly
winded. Obviously, Dr. Harding hasn’t taken care of his body. Here you
meet Travis Harding who is concerned about the camera and photos taken.
You also meet "Dixie" Fuller; who Sam first perceives as a young
Southern gal. Travis asks, "So, did you see her, Dad?" Sam is confused
up until they walk up toward the Inn some distance from the docks. It’s
then that he reads the sign on the Inn written in Gaelic. It read: Loch
Ness Inn (Established 1620). It is then that he knows that he’s in Loch
Ness, looking for the monster.
Chapter
Two
Consciousness
is a singular of which the plural is unknown, and what seems to be a
plurality is merely a series of different aspects of this one thing…
- Erwin
Schrodinger
Stallions
Gate, New Mexico, Now.
Samantha
Josephine Fuller and Dr. Beeks are standing in the Waiting Room waiting
to see the new leapee. It seems that Sammy Jo is using the information
that she obtains from the preliminary interview is giving her a clue as
to what they are missing in the transferal process, something that
might help to bring Sam home.
Dr. Harding
awakes disoriented. Verbena begins to ask questions and he’s relatively
calm until he sees Samantha. He asks her where Travis is but Sammy Jo
never answers. He is given a hypojet spray into his backside and is out
like a light. The only thing bothering Sammy Jo is the intense look
that the leapee gave her and the name: Travis.
Chapter
Three
Let us not
underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in truth.
- Henry
David Thoreau
Loch
Ness, March 14, 1986
Inside the
cozy inn, Sam is visited by his friendly hologram. Travis and Dixie
left the camera outside and go to get it. Al is dressed in the usual
odd attire, and Sam asks him not to tell him that he’s here to find the
Loch Ness monster. It’s part of the whole grand scheme of things. Facts
are given about Loch Ness and the monster (else where in the summary).
Al tells him whom he has leaped into. Sam remembers him. He knew of his
work (Theoretical physics from Stanford) on the string theory was one
of the cornerstones at Project Starbright. Al even mentions, "Without
it, there would have been no Project Quantum Leap."
Of course,
Ziggy doesn’t know exactly why Sam is on the leap to begin with. But
says that there’s a 50% chance that he’s there to repair Harding’s
relationship with his son, Travis. Apparently, they had a major falling
out here in Loch Ness and never spoke again. Harding abandoned physics
research, then spent the remaining time teaching, then committed
suicide six years later.
Al continues
to tell him that Travis Harding is a rebel as far as his father
believes. He refused to study science and took up with the
"Ghostbuster" crowd. He is into the paranormal studies. When he was 12,
Travis was a true believer in everything from UFO’s to poltergeists to
spoon bending. Travis seems to have a love for wackos. He formed his
own psychic hotline… designed to separate the gullible from their money.
The reason
that the Harding’s are in Loch Ness is to find the monster. Travis
wants to put together an expedition to search for the monster using
sonar. He wants to put twelve boats side by side and drop a deep-scan
curtain and sweep the lake back and forth until they find something and
he needs not only his dads money but his dads name to help him fund
such a expedition. So, Harding is there to study the evidence for
himself, troll the lake, and try to determine if the expedition is a
good idea. In the original history, he decided against it because it
would be his reputation on the line, not Travis’s and he knew what
would happen if he got mixed up in the paranormal. His perfect
credentials would be tainted. Sam is at a loss on what to do. If he
repairs the relationship, he would ruin Dr. Harding’s reputation.
When Travis
and Dixie returned from the docks with the camera in hand, Travis and
Sam argue over how they perceive the scientific phenomenon of the
monster and Travis stormed out of the inn.
Chapter
Four
We say that
inseparable quantum interconnectedness of the whole universe is the
fundamental reality, and that relatively independently behaving parts
are merely particular and contingent forms within this whole.
- David Bohm
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico, Now.
As Al comes
out of the Imaging Chamber, he knew that there was an anomaly that
Ziggy wasn’t telling him about and it scared him. He had had nightmares
that at times that he couldn’t find Sam and that feeling came to pass
when a leap felt wrong. At this point in time, we find out that Ziggy
is having problems with the leap in getting a fix on Dr. Beckett’s
location, his mission, and on his brain wave patterns.
Ziggy tells
Al that the time line is in constant flux. She then speculates that it
is like there is a storm in the time line; a brief powerful storm that
shook up everything from 1986 on. They aren’t sure what caused the
storm. As they theorize on what’s happening, Al, Gooshie and Ziggy,
finally realize that the last time that something screwy like this
happened, Sam and Al switched and Al ceased to exist. Even as they
realize that someone at the project is a part of the problem, Sammy Jo
steps into the Control Room having heard their words then admits that
she had been in Scotland with her boyfriend, Travis, in 1986. They lose
contact with Dr. Beckett… and Sammy Jo disappears.
Chapter
Five
A spark has
often kindled a big fire.
- Scottish
Proverb
Scotland,
Loch Ness Inn
Sam is
wondering how he’s going to fix this problem when the young woman comes
back in the Inn. It was then that he actually looks at her… she looks
so familiar and the thought, ‘Abigail’, runs through his mind. She
looked so small… almost a girl… but when she disrobes from the
raincoat, he sees her better. Dixie Fuller, this southern girl who
talks so lousy begins to defend herself from Dr. Harding’s earlier
words with her and defends her boyfriend then stalks out of the room.
Dixie reminded Sam a lot of Abigail. Abigail without the obsession.
Abigail with bad grammar. Agabail with such an intelligence flowing
from her eyes, and intelligence that reminded him of…
He decided
to go talk with Travis and Dixie and overheard them up the stairs
talking about how passionate Travis was about finding the monster. That
if his father believed in the research, then he believed in him. Sam is
confused and needs Al. He was on his own.
Chapter
Six
We live
before and after and pine for what is not
- Percy
Bysshe Shelley "To A Skylark"
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico
Al asks
Ziggy what happened to Dr. Fuller. He is told that there isn’t a Dr.
Fuller in this time line. Even though he remembered her, it wasn’t
going to last long and they needed to work fast. But Al knows that
whatever Sam changed that it revolved around Samantha Josephine Fuller.
Also during this time line, Tina had also mysteriously vanished… but
only to go to her mom’s house when her mom broke her arm. With the
storm in the timeline, the changes in time, continue, hence they can’t
hook up with Sam. So, with a physicist in the Waiting Room, Al decides
to go pick his brain.
Chapter
Seven
If you are
sure you understand everything that is going on, you are hopelessly
confused.
- Walter
Mondale
Mount
Shasta, California, Now
Sammy Jo
Harding had just moved into Mount Shasta after a bitter divorce from
her husband, Travis Harding and was on very limited income…. She was
down to her last one hundred dollars. She is looking at an e-mail that
Steve sent to her – computer hacking. Six months ago, she sat down at a
computer that Steve had in an old building and found a number in the
505 area code that let her in. The message on the screen was: DR.
FULLER! YOU’RE BACK! Sammy Jo had typed: I WAS NEVER GONE. The screen
typed back: BUT YOU ARE GONE, SAMMY JO. AND I, FOR ONE, MISS YOU. Yet,
here she was again… thinking about hacking again… and she needed the
money. She replied to the email stating that as long as it wasn’t
illegal, she’d help out…. However, if it was illegal, she’d charge
triple.
Chapter
Eight
Here’s to
you’re and yours,
No fogettin’
us an’ oors;
An’ whenever
you an’ yours
Comes to see
us an’ oors,
Us an’
oors’ll be as guid
To you and
yours,
As ever you
an’ yours
Was to us
an’ oors,
Whenever us
an’ oors
Cam to see
you an’ yours.
- Scottish
Toast
Sam went
upstairs and begin to speak with Travis and Dixie. They argue and
confront each other. Travis thinking that his father is just there to
prove that he is wacko and full of nonsense.
Chapter Nine
It occurs to
me that this meddling energy – everyone putting in his ten cents’ worth
and struggling for dominance – is at the heart of the American Genius.
It produces results because it creates such pressure, even fear that
people come up with ideas simply to survive. It’s the dialectic gone
crazy; a hundred theses and antitheses struggling, like spermatozoa, to
make it as the synthesis. It’s undoubtedly effective when the agreed
purpose of the exercise is something simple like maximizing profits;
less useful when you are trying to see the woods for the trees. And
quite catastrophic when you are looking for light at the end of the
tunnel.
- Michael
Blakemore
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico, Now.
Al goes into
the Waiting Room where Verbena Beeks is sitting with Dr. Harding. Dr.
Harding has been harassing Dr. Beeks. He is more concerned with where
he is than answering her questions. Dismissing Bena, Al begins to ask
Dr. Harding about Loch Ness and Samantha Fuller. After a few minutes of
questioning him, Al breaks the rules and tells Dr. Harding about
Project Quantum Leap.
Chapter Ten We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the
stars.
- Oscar Wilde
Mount
Shasta, California, Now.
Sammy Jo had
fallen asleep on her computer and the meowing that was on her computer
indicating that she had e-mail woke her. She was in on the deal. Being
still wary, she e-mailed Steve back saying that if he was flexible on
money, she should have asked for more. Another e-mail exchange and
Steve has quadrupled the money being paid. Now, she knows that she
can’t turn back. Within minutes, there is a knock at her door – the
package had arrived – with Steve as the carrier. Steve took her out to
dinner and then left her only after negotiating on a new price… 10
times the going rate.
Chapter
Eleven
He has gone
on the mountain,
He is lost
to the forest,
Like a
summer-dried fountain,
When our
need was the sorest.
- Sir Walter
Scott
Loch
Ness, March 14, 1986
Sam is still
wondering how to do this without Al’s help when he meets Ms. Comyn, the
owner of the Inn. He goes out to Urquhart Castle to find Travis and
talk to him and try to reconcile the problem. Finally a truce is made.
Chapter
Twelve
The universe
looks more like a great thought than a great machine.
- James Jeans
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico, Now.
After
telling Harding about PQL, Al brings Donald Harding out into the
Control Center. Everyone is quite surprised as well as Dr. Harding.
After a brief discussion, Al goes back into the Imaging Chamber to try
to find Sam in the storm.
Chapter Thirteen
Alice
laughed. "There’s no use trying," she said: "One can’t believe
impossible things."
"I daresay
you haven’t had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I
always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes, I’ve believed as
many as six impossible things before breakfast."
- Lewis
Carroll,
Through The
Looking Glass
Mount
Shasta, California, Now
Sammy Jo
received fifty thousand dollars in cash to try to find the computer
that she had been in contact with before, and she dialed into the
server and started her search.
Chapter
Fourteen
A child born
at midnight is, also, regarded as being one who will live to be
"different" – either for good or for ill. Usually, the child born at
midnight, or in the "wee sma’ oors," is expected to manifest in later
life some peculiar brilliance of intellect, even though such brilliance
should be allied to a little wildness.
- Ronald
MacDonald Douglas
Scottish
Lore and Folklore
Loch
Ness, March 14, 1986
By the time
they got back to the Inn, Travis and Sam find that Ms. Comyn and Dixie
had made Hodgepodge for them to eat. We find out that today is Dixie’s
birthday and Sam apologizes for ruining her birthday. We find out how
Travis and Dixie met and we also find out why Travis is so interested
in Sammy Jo. He’s interested in her past. Dixie told him that her
grandmother believes in "walk-ins". She said that the walk-in was her
mother’s one true love and was always there when her mom was in
trouble. It was then that Sam remembers and calls her by name – Sammy
Jo, but she prefers Dixie. Unbeknownst to Sam, he upsets Sammy Jo
because he insulted her when he started asking her questions about her
family. Things aren’t working out.
Chapter
Fifteen
Well, we
think that time "passes" flows past us, but what if it is we who move
forward, from past to future, always discovering the new? It would be a
little like reading a book, you see. The book is all there, all at
once, between it’s covers. But if you want to read the story and
understand it, you must begin with the first page, and go forward,
always in order.
- Ursala K.
Le Guin, The Dispossessed
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico, Now
Al is caught
in the Time Tunnel searching for Sam until he was just about to be
sick. Coming back out into the Control Room, they talk about the
alternating time lines. They give a suggestion to centering on Sammy
Jo, but they don’t know what that would do to Sam.
Chapter
Sixteen
If there is
any primary rule of science, it is, in my opinion, acceptance of the
obligation to acknowledge and describe all of reality, all that exists,
everything that is the case. Before all else, science must be
comprehensive and all-inclusive. It must accept within its jurisdiction
even that which it cannot understand or explain, that for which no
theory exists, that which cannot be measured, predicted, controlled, or
ordered. It must accept even contradictions and illogicalities and
mysteries, the vague, the ambiguous, the archaic, the unconscious, and
all other aspects of existence that are difficult to communicate. At
its best, it’s completely open and excludes nothing.
- Abraham
Maslow,
The
Psychology of Science.
Mount
Shasta, California, Now.
Sammy Jo is
still going through the numbers in the document she’s been given and
finally comes in contact again with the same number. Ziggy begins to
talk with her through the linked ‘back door’. Ziggy tells her who she
is talking to and their conversation ends as Ziggy tells her that she
had a previous life – a life without Travis Harding as her husband.
Chapter
Seventeen
The child,
the seed, the grain of corn,
The acorn on
the hill,
Each for
some separate end is born,
In season
fit, and still
Each must in
strength arise to work almighty will.
- Robert
Louis Stevenson
Loch
Ness, March 14, 1986
Sam debates
on telling Sammy Jo that he is her father. Instead of going to talk
with her, he heads out to the dock to look around. Travis appears and
tells him how he’s hurt Sammy Jo’s feelings. Again, they argue and
again Travis stomps off.
Chapter Eighteen
When you
investigate something, you change the nature of what you investigate.
Impossible to intervene without altering reality. Physicists know that
well enough; they call it indeterminancy.
- Ian
Watson, Miracle Visitors
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico, Now.
Dr. Harding
is ready to return to his life but AL tells him if they don’t’ locate
Sam that it won’t help him and that he couldn’t fill Sam’s shoes – no
one could. Ziggy informs Al that she’s found Sammy Jo this day and age
online. After a brief discussion, they decide to contact Sammy Jo and
ask her about Travis and Dr. Harding back in 1986.
Chapter
Nineteen
I refuse to
believe that God plays dice with the universe.
- Albert
Einstein
Mount
Shasta, California, Now.
Sammy Jo is
confused and saddened at the same time. She finally asks the neural
hybrid computer what kind of game it’s playing … thinking that it’s one
of her friends playing a joke on her. When Ziggy asked about Harding
and Travis, she disconnected the online link and grabs the money and
tries to rush it to the bank.
Chapter
Twenty
Two things
stand like stone:
Kindness is
another’s trouble,
Courage in
your own.
- Adam
Lindsay Gordon
Loch
Ness, March 14-15, 1986
When Sam
came back in from the dock, Sammy Jo was waiting to talk to him. Sam
talks to her about physics, and she thinks that he’s mocking her…
thinking that she’s stupid since she didn’t finish high school and
didn’t go to college. According to the book, at this point, Sammy Jo
didn’t make it past Advanced Algebra. Her Algebra teacher shamed her
and since he was the calc and pre-calc teacher, she gave up. Sam wanted
to test her belief system… to believe in impossible things. He then
broke his own rules, telling her about her family… her IQ… about how
she wanted to go back in time to see her father and tell him that she
loved him. He was about to tell her that he was her father when she
told him to stop patronizing her and being cruel. Sam continues to
explain to her… telling her about the leaping process… and finally
tells her that he approves of her. After she stands up for herself, Sam
tells her that she should stand up for herself more often. They seem to
call a truce.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Man seems to
have no function except that of dissipating or degrading energy.
- Henry Adams
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico, Now
Ziggy and Al
have a private conversation about Sammy Jo and how she accidentally
found the back door to the project. Since she technically hacked into
the system and it is illegal, that’s all Al needed. However, in
thinking that they might link to Sammy Jo to contact Sam, Ziggy
hypotheses that if Al shows himself to Sammy Jo that she will remember
him and that it will change history again. This time though, she might
not marry Harding… but she might not come back to the project. Ziggy
also says that after running all the diagnostic and statistical models
– they show that there is an 85 % chance that the person who finds Dr.
Beckett’s route home is none other than his daughter. If they lose her
assistance in the project, they would lose Sam.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
The deil’s
bairns hae ay the deil’s luck.
- Scottish
Proverb
Shasta
Mountain, California, Now.
Sammy Jo is
on her way out of town when a police officer pulls her over for
barreling through a yield sign that she hadn’t seen. He asks to see her
license but when he verifies it, he asks her to step out of the car. He
takes her into custody and she tells him about the fifty thousand
dollars in the bag in her front seat then takes her to the airport.
When asked where he was taking her, he told her New Mexico. She wasn’t
so surprised.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Frae
Witches, Warlocks, an’ Wurricoes,
An’ Evil
Spirits, an’ a’ Things
That gang
Bump I’ the nicht,
Guid Lord,
deliver us!
- Invocation
Loch
Ness, March 15, 1986
(Beware The Ides)
In the early
morning hours, Travis comes in yelling that he’s seen the monster and
has proof of it. He has taken pictures of the monster not too long ago…
in the bright moonlight and when it stopped raining. But when Sam went
out to look at the moon, it had already set and he had a bigger problem
believing what Travis was calling ‘moon-breaks’ in the rain. He was
skeptical, but they began to set up a makeshift photo lab to check out
the photos. But Sam’s not the only one who’s skeptical… so is Sammy Jo.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
I drew a
hard distinction between what I called the legal (past regarding) and
the creative (future regarding) minds. I insisted that we overrated the
darkness of the future, that by adequate analysis of contemporary
processes its conditions could be brought within the range of our
knowledge and it’s form controlled, and that mankind was at the dawn of
a great changeover from life regarded as a system of consequences to
life regarded as a system of constructive effort. I did not say the
future could be foretold. We should be less and less bounded by the
engagements of the past and more and more ruled by a realization of the
creative effects of our acts.
- H. G. Wells
Experiment
in Autobiography
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico, Now
Al has Sammy
Jo stationed in one of the storage facilities and begins to ask her
questions about how she illegally hacked into their computer systems.
Sammy Jo tells him that she knows that his project is dealing around
Time Travel. When asked what she meant by that, Sammy Jo responded that
since he’s doing Time Travel research and her father-in-law, Donald
Harding, has been investigating the physics of Time Travel ever since
Loch Ness – that his think tank involves around it – she feels that
he’s brought her here because he’s afraid that she’s involved with some
sort of corporate espionage for Donald Harding. Al hadn’t thought of
that. When asked if she is involved she answers no. That settled, Al
asks her about how Travis and Harding acted that day so long ago.
Curious, she tells him that their relationship broke up that day
because Harding had implied that Travis had falsified the photos taken
of the monster. Knowing that he had all the information that he needed,
Al shot off to help Sam.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
The gift of
second sight, or prophecy by visions is, of course not peculiar to
Scotland; but it seems to have flourished more – and still does
flourish more – in the mystic Celtic atmosphere of Scotland than almost
anywhere else on earth.
- Ronald
MacDonald Douglas,
Scottish
Lore and Folklore
Loch
Ness, March 15, 1986
Back in the
past, Dixie Fuller sat outside the makeshift lab and waited for the
pictures to be developed but she didn’t expect to see a red suited
little man step out of a bright rectangular white light and begin to
talk to her. She yells at the man scared that her families curse is
back to haunt her. Al fades in and out and leaves before Sam and Travis
come out of the lab and ask her what’s going on. Sammy Jo says that Dr.
Harding is the meanest person ever around trying to make her go over
the edge like her grandmother. A moment later, Al’s back and Sammy Jo
feels tormented. She thinks that it’s a game but is told otherwise by
both Sam and Al. Eventually, she says that she’s not as dumb as they
think she is that she knows a hologram when she sees one and to leave
her alone. That she’s leaving and she’s had enough of both Travis and
Harding. She thinks that they are both pulling a scam together and is
determined to leave.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
It may seem
a Paradox to others, but to me is appears undeniable, that the Scottish
idiom . . . is more fit for pleading, than either the English idiom, or
the French tongue; for certainly a pleader must use a brisk, smart and
quick way of speaking…
- Sir George
MacKenzie,
Pleadings In
Some Remarkable Cases
Before the
Supreme Courts of Scotland
(1673)
Loch
Ness, March 15, 1986
Sam was
dumbfounded. Something had changed and Sammy Jo was leaving. Then Al
reappeared and Sam heard him happily. Al tells Sam that he doesn’t have
time for a happy return. Ziggy predicts that there is a ninety-nine
percent chance that that he’s here for Sammy Jo, that if she leaves
now, she won’t marry Travis, but she also wouldn’t return to the lab.
Chasing her down, Sam found out that he had to convince her to study
physics; to give her a chance to think of impossibilities. She doesn’t
leave. The result of her not leaving – the Time Storm is gone. Sammy Jo
goes to college. She goes to CalTech, and then does her graduate work
at MIT, and her post doc at Harvard. Travis’ life also changes. They
don’t marry, but he gives up all the mystical stuff. He goes back to
UCLA and discovers paleontology. He’s looking for the missing link. And
the plan that he wanted Harding to back – the sonar sweep: a man named
Adrian Shine did it in 1987. Shine called the project Operation
Deepscan. They had two dozen boats drop a sonar curtain over the lake
and swept it for three days. Near Urquhart Castle, the recorded
something large moving slowly about six hundred feet below the surface.
Thankfully, Sammy Jo is back at the project; one of the top theoretical
physicists and is working with Ziggy to bring Sam back home. The person
that she checks her theories is none other than Donald Harding. He’s
been a consultant from the start.
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
When a
distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible,
he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is
impossible, he is very probably wrong.
- Author C.
Clark
Loch
Ness, March 17, 1986
The last two
days was more pleasant than the first two. Laughter and a relaxed
atmosphere seemed to be the result. However, Al and Sam are both a
little wary of what might have caused Donald Harding’s turnaround. He
wasn’t one to change his mind so quickly. Sitting on the dock, Sam just
wondered what could have changed him when it happened. A diamond shaped
head crowned on top of a large thin neck rose out of the water; with an
eye as large as a fist and starring at him. It could see Al and
approached the quivering hologram and the quantum physicist. Sam tried
to call out to Travis and Sammy Jo across the lake, but in avail. If
Harding needed proof of the impossible… this was going to be it. Even
as the monster leaned down over the quantum physicist, his mouth
beginning to open, the bright light engulfed Sam leaping him out.
Error in
book found:
As in every
episode we all find something that doesn’t seem exactly right. This
book had one…
They were
talking about bringing Dr. Harding into the Control Room. In all the
episodes or books that I’ve read/seen, the control room is the main hub
with corridors coming off of it… the Imaging Chamber definitely
connected onto one side. In the episodes that they quoted from where Al
had to break rules to help Sam – they told of the rape victim having to
come into the waiting room – (she had to go through the Control Room)
yet… everyone acted completely and totally in awe as if it had never
been done before when they brought Dr. Harding into the Control Room. A
little flub.
About the
Author:
Sandy
Schofield is the pen name for husband-and-wife writing team Dean Wesley
Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
As Sandy
Schofield, they have written three books: a Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine novel called "The Big Game", an Aliens novel
called "Rogue" and this novel.
Under their
double by-line, they have written several more Star Trek
novels, including one part of the last summer’s smash hit, The
Invasion Series. They also collaborated on a publishing company, Pulphouse
Publishing, Inc. That joint venture has brought them one World
Fantasy award, several other award nominations, and house full of
books, (including several copies of The Best of Pulphouse from
St. Martin’s Press). Kristine edited Pulphouse for four years
and the magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction for six years. Her work
there won her science fiction’s prestigious Hugo Award for Best
Professional Editor. Dean edited most Pulphouse projects. His editing
skills placed Pulphouse: A Fiction Magazine on the Hugo Ballot
four times.
Individually,
Dean and Kristine have published shelves full of short stories and
novels. Dean’s novel, Laying the Music To Rest, was a finalist
for the Bran Stoker Award for Best Horror Novel (the only science
fiction novel to achieve that distinction). He has also sold over fifty
short stories.
Kristine has
sold a number of short stories as well as several novels. Her most
recent novels are The Fey: Rival and Star Wars: The New
Rebellion, both from Bantam Books. Dean and Kristine live in Oregon.
Quantum Leap Podcast
Book Club: Author Kristine Kathryn Rusch
(Pen name Sandy Schofield)
USA Today
bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre.
Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing.
Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy,
award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial
nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her works include:
The Fey series: With a sweeping scope reminiscent of George R.R.
Martin’s Westeros and intricate characters like those in J.R.R.
Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Fey series takes
fantasy in a whole new direction. When the most powerful ruling family
in the world attempts to conquer a tiny, seemingly helpless island
kingdom, they meet forces they never knew existed. In a fight spread
over generations, this saga of hope and magic proves that the greatest
power of all comes from love;
The Retrieval Artist series – a series of 15 books, consisting of seven
standalone novels and the Anniversary Day Saga, an epic, eight-book
story of conspiracy, revenge and shadowy justice. Miles Flint, no
stranger to tough cases, walks a razor edge as he and others struggle
to save the Moon from total destruction. Where will you be when the
bombs go off?
And the Diving series: a space opera set in a vividly imagined
far-future universe, featuring a strong, capable female heronie,
blending fast-paced action with an exploration of the nature of
friendship and the ethics of scientific discoveries.
Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short
fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has
won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo,
Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery
Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award.
Rusch publishes mystery novels under the pseudonym Kris Nelscott.
Publications from The Chicago Tribune to Booklist have included her
Nelscott mystery novels in their top-ten-best mystery novels of the
year. The Nelscott books have received nominations for almost every
award in the mystery field, including the best novel Edgar Award, and
the Shamus Award. Her Nelscott mystery novels include the Smokey Dalton
series: Memphis, 1968. Black P.I., white client. And Martin Luther
King’s on the way… Memphis P.I. SMOKEY DALTON is hired by a wealthy
woman from Chicago to find out why her mother left him $10,00 in her
will. Toss in the fact that 1968 Memphis is a racial powderkeg set to
go off, with an on-going Sanitation Workers’ Strike and the impending
arrival of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. contributing to the mix. Now add
in that Smokey’s developing a strong, and apparently mutual attraction
to his white client, and you’ve got one hell of a read that offers an
unflinching look at a pivotal moment in American history. He’s an
appealing private eye, a loner with a strong set of ethics, burning
with anger at the injustices he sees everyday, but careful to distance
himself from the struggle for equality swirling all around him, or any
personal involvement. He doesn’t even commit himself to his profession
–he prefers to call himself an “odd-jobs man.” But the distance Smokey
tries to keep is rapidly shrinking, even as his attraction grows, and
it soon becomes obvious that somehow, somewhere, his client’s life and
his are inextricably linked.51KKC261VJL
Rusch writes goofy romance novels as award-winner Kristine Grayson,
romantic suspense as Kristine Dexter, futuristic science fiction as
Kris DeLake, and has sold a number of short stories.
She also edits. Beginning with work at the innovative publishing
company, Pulphouse, followed by her award-winning tenure at The
Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, she took fifteen years off
before returning to editing with the original anthology series Fiction
River, published by WMG Publishing. She acts as series editor with her
husband, writer Dean Wesley Smith, and edits at least two anthologies
in the series per year on her own.
Rusch is one of the few people who can boast having both “Star Wars”
and “Star Trek” on her resume, being the author of Star Wars: The New
Rebellion, and writing or co-writing ten novels set in the Star Trek
universe.
Sandy Schofield is the pen name that Kristine Kathryn Rusch and her
husband Dean Wesley Smith use for their collaborative writing works.
Leapers will know Sandy Schofield best as the “author” of the Quantum
Leap novel “Loch Ness Leap”: Dr Donald Harding, theoretical physicist,
believes only in science. His son Travis believes in the unbelievable.
It’s March of 1986 when Sam leaps into Harding, who has come to Loch
Ness, where his son is attempting to prove to him the existence of the
fabled monster. Ziggy says that there is a fifty percent chance that
Sam is there to keep the two from becoming permanently estranged. But
Sam suspects that there is something more to the leap – something
concerning Travis Harding’s girlfriend, an oddly familiar young woman
who calls herself Dixie Fuller. Sam is right. He is not at Loch Ness
for Donald Harding’s son – he is there for his own daughter. And what
he does will be the key to her future – as well as his own…
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