Time Travel Institute (Cold Curtain)

Chloe's Prohibition

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."—T. S. Eliot

July 26, 2147

"Hi. Is Alexander Watts here?" the woman, in her sixties, asked at the Watts' door.

"If it's about that submarine, I told him to stop working on it!" Mrs. Watts said.

"It isn't...I think. Some kid at an inauguration once told me to come here today and give him a note."

"Oh, that's probably because he got Benjamin stuck in the past. Alexander will be back in a while. You can come in and sit down."

Two miles down the road, Alexander arrived at the Ogletree's farm. "Hey, Chloe!"

"I'm taking care of Roxie!"

Alexander walked into the stables, in which twelve horses lived.

"Hi." Chloe asked.

"Can you give me that knife thing?"

"It's a bot knife. Why? Where's Benjamin?"

"He's a little delayed in coming home. I'll get him out."

"Where is he?"

"Stuck in a blizzard in 2105." Alexander warily watched the bot knife.

"Of all the stupid things for you two to do! This beats almost blowing up Mr. Abernathy's combine with a rocket."

"Yes, ma'am. You can come over to wait for him."

"Once you get him out, you'd better not send him back in time again."

Chloe told her hired hand that she had to go, and she glared at Alexander most of the way to his house.

"Benjamin sent you a letter!" Daisy met them outside.

"From where?" Alexander asked.

"The lady says the White House foyer."

"He can't do that!" Alexander bolted inside. "He'll destroy the universe or something!"

Daisy chased him, asking, "If it did, wouldn't it have destroyed by now?"

"Where's the letter?" Alexander asked. "Hurry up. Did you read it?"

"Yeah," the lady said.

"Why?"

"Because whenever somebody tells you not to read something, you read it anyway," Mrs. Watts said. "It's human nature."

"Why'd he get an idea do to that anyway?"

"Because you lost him," Daisy said.

"Losing somebody means that you don't know where he is. I know where he is." Alexander read the note. "He didn't say what day and time."

"Well, I was there when he disappeared, and it was about three o'clock am on the 22nd," the lady said.

"Why were you watching?" Alexander asked.

"I was curious, and he left suddenly anyway, and that made me more curious."

"Now we just have to wait until three o'clock am June 28th," Alexander said.

"Wait for what?"

"For it to be the right time to bring him back. You have to wait the same amount of time the person has to wait before coming back."

"Back from where?"

"The past."

"What?"