Continuum

When they had found it, Stevo applied water to his hand and placed it in the container with the dust. There was barely enough room for Mike and the pallet holding his dad to fit in the tiny closet where the power switch was. All Mike could see was a blank panel on one wall of the closet. He put water on his hand like his father, and placed it in the dust.

They both put their hand on the panel on just the place his father indicated before. Nothing happened. Stevo wiped his hand off on his tunic. "Let's try it again, shall we?" He wetted his hand as before, and dipped it in the dust again, getting a good layer. Mike did the same, and they both placed their hands on the panel again.

Suddenly light came through the door! Stevo took heart that perhaps this would work after all.

Mike and Stevo shielded their eyes from the daylight glare of the ancient city, now fully powered. Mike turned off their lanters and pushed his dad's pallet down the street toward the open area where they came down. Stevo now spoke to his other sons on the handheld, telling them excitedly of their accomplishment. He told them that they were all right and to wait until he could get the tunnel open again for them to come in that way.

Stevo knew his sons would do whatever he needed, for as long as he needed it. He felt the quiet pride any father would feel, knowing his children were competent and successful in what they were doing. Mike was the oldest, the firstborn of his wife Beth - his pride and joy.

Stevo was well past middle age when the young reporter had come to see him at his home. She was so intuitive, guessing a lot of things about his role in the formation of the new regime. The fact that there could be reporters, and free speech was something new and exciting. He was quite taken with her, and she was very interested in finding out all she could about how everything opened up into freedom so suddenly.

They discovered that they had a common love for liberty and free thinking. Whereas before, no one was open about their opinions for fear of the thought police, now Beth and Stevo spent hours talking about all their common past and the exciting possiblities of the future.

It was not long that they were looking for a place together. Her stories sold well to the publication sites and his new job as an Apple rep paid handsomely. Having children no longer required permission from the State, so after they were married in a virtual ceremony, Mike came along almost at once.

Stevo stopped his revery, startled. Fifty years! Beth had died a year ago. Stevo and his boys were still bereft of her. She had been the core of their family.

Once she was a wife and mother, she had given up her career to devote herself to her boys. Stevo finally told her about the Continuum and about Mary R147. She was incredulous, thinking at first he was jesting, but she relented and accepted what he was telling her, even though it was so farfetched.

Who could believe molecular implants that connected people to alien computers that were self aware. The commercial implants people wore were small, but nothing like the size Stevo was telling her about. She used the Continuum as did everyone else, but there was no one there but other people. Privately, she was very glad never to have met a thinking, living machine. That was too much for her to imagine. Beth had been very glad they were all gone. Of course she never wrote about any of this. Who would believe it anyway?