Date: Wed, 9 Jun 93 11:24:07 EDT From: Tracy Finifter To: alt-ql-creative@cisco.com Subject: "A New Face to Reality" Part 11 Message-Id: "A New Face to Reality" by Tracy E. Finifter Part 11 "Gooshie, did you call up that archive I asked you to?" Al asked upon exiting the Imaging Chamber. "Right here, Admiral," responded the programmer as he handed Al the requested hardcopy. "Thanks, Gooshie," Al said and headed towards the Waiting Room. He was stopped by a feminine sounding "ahem." "Thanks to you too, Ziggy," Al appended. "You're welcome, Admiral." "Say, Ziggy, are you sure that this is what has to be done?" Al asked of the computer. "I mean, is Tom going to remember anything I tell him once he leaps back?" "I project a 97.6% probability that the required information will be retained by Commander Beckett once he returns to the year 1980," the sultry voice replied. "Thanks, Ziggy," Al muttered as he headed once again towards the waiting room. A simple 'yes' would have sufficed, he thought to himself, not daring to say it aloud. After all, the hybrid computer had very good hearing. Al entered the Waiting Room to fined Tom and Verbena sitting on the bed talking. "Verbena," he said, "can I talk to the commander alone for a minute?" "Certainly, Admiral." Giving one final nod towards Tom, she hopped down from the bed and headed out of the room. "What is it, Admiral?" Tom asked upon seeing Al's solemn expression. "I want you to take a look at this, Tom," Al said as he handed Tom the printout. Tom instantly recognized it; he had a copy of it himself at home. Upon examination, he looked back at Al. Gradually, the revelation dawned upon him as he took another look at the paper, then back again to Al. "Yes, Tom," Al confirmed. "I never knew," Tom said, relief mixing with the last remnants of disbelief in his voice. "We were supposed to rescue you, but we failed, and I never knew what happened to you." "Well, Commander, as you see, I turn out just fine," Al assured. He continued, hoping the parallels that could be drawn between their lives could help Tom overcome his problems, "Although, it didn't always look that way. Life didn't treat me very well after the war and, well, I almost destroyed myself by drinking and shutting out the people who cared about me. But I was able to turn my life around, and, in all honesty, we have a mutual acquaintance to thank for that." Tom's eyebrows narrowed in confusion. Al then pulled out a small mirror and handed it him. "Here, take a look at yourself." Tom did, and the realization of whose image looked back sent his eyes open wide. "Why, that's my brother Sam, sort of." "More specifically," Al corrected, "that's my friend Sam in 1999. He's the scientist who created Quantum Leap, and he's the scientist who's traveling in time, leaping into other people's lives, including yours." Tom took a few seconds to absorb everything. "Why that little devil..." However, the new information made creeping realizations enter his mind, coupled with old memories. He broke off, and looked Al in the eye. "I remember, the Thanksgiving before I shipped out to 'Nam, he really spooked my folks by saying he could see the future, and that I was going to die over there... on April the 8th." Al simply looked back, unsure of what to say next. "But he was wrong," Tom continued, then slightly more hesitantly, "wasn't he?" His voice was growing shakier as the implications of everything the admiral was telling him sank in. Al was unsure if he wanted to say any more, but as it was, he felt he had gone too far to go back now. "No, he wasn't," he said softly. "That was him, leaping into himself, that Thanksgiving. According to the timeline he knew, you were killed in Vietnam." "Then what happened?" Tom asked, unsure if he really wanted to know the answer. "After that basketball game against Bentlyville, he leaped into one of your men in Vietnam, Magic Williams..." "And he killed Titi," Tom finished. "God, Little Brother..." he trailed off, closing his eyes. The thought of his kid brother fighting in the jungles, saving his life, putting himself in danger like that, was more than he wanted to accept. But he did accept it because he knew in his heart that everything he was being told was the truth. "So that's why he's been in my... flashbacks lately." "As near as we can figure, yes," Al replied. He didn't volunteer any more information, knowing that Tom could figure out what else he needed to know on his own. A few more moments of silence passed between them, then a weak smile came across his mouth. "You know, he was always talking about time travel, especially as a kid, but I never dreamed he'd actually pull it off." "Well, maybe it's time you started dreaming, and give your kid brother a little faith. After all, he gave me faith when I really needed it." "That does sound like Sam, all right." Tom set the mirror down and considered the admiral's words. His life for the past ten years had been hell. Every year the flashbacks had grown worse, his drinking heavier, and his family more distant. But with the reassurances he had learned today, a suffocating weight finally came off his shoulders, and he felt, for the first time in a long time, that he was able to face the world with all the Beckett strength he had. "Listen, Admiral..." "Call me Al." "Al, when you see Sam, thank him for me, and congratulate him." "I will," Al replied. "I promise." * Tracy Finifter | "Life is what happens to you while * * finifter@gandalf.rutgers.edu | your busy making other plans." * * Douglass College, Rutgers University | - John Lennon *