Chapter 4: Time Slips

4a) Through Time

The display in front of Alex flickered and then steadied. His stomach churned as the vibrations intensified, the whole machine seeming to pulse with energy. For a moment, he felt the weight of his body lessen, as if gravity itself was loosening its grip on him.

A brilliant light enveloped him, so intense that he had to close his eyes against the glare. The sensations that followed were disorienting—his body felt as though it was being stretched and compressed simultaneously. It was a sensory overload, unlike anything Alex had ever experienced. The noise, the light, the feeling of motionless movement—pushing the limits of his endurance was overwhelming.

And then quickly, the intensity of the light and vibrations diminished. The machine’s hum receded to a whisper, and the bright lights dimmed to a gentle glow. Alex opened his eyes slowly, his body still tingling from the journey. He was unsure of what he would find when he looked outside the machine—if the world as he knew it had changed in ways beyond comprehension.

Alex thought, trying to carefully remember the sequence of commands that had inadvertently sealed the hatch, and he again scrutinised the touchscreen intently. His previous misstep was a lesson in caution, and he was determined not to repeat it. His fingers hovered over the screen, tracing the word he had realised meant "close." In its place, he saw a new symbol that his offline translator suggested could mean "open." With hope and trepidation, Alex pressed the symbol, half-expecting another unexpected response from the machine.

To his relief, the command was correct this time. The hatch responded immediately, the locking mechanism disengaging with a soft click before the door slid open with a quiet hiss. He stepped out, his legs unsteady from the physical disorientation and the mental strain of navigating the unknown. As his boots touched the ground, he blinked against the brightness of the sun—a sun that cast shadows slightly askew from how he remembered them just moments before. The subtle difference in the scenery alerted his suspicions: Had he travelled? Why did things look similar, but not the same? The suspicion brought cautious optimism, mingling with a profound awareness of his new reality.

4b) Realisation

Wed 3^rd April 2024

As his eyes adjusted to the subtle differences in the light, Alex cautiously stepped forward, scanning the environment. The farm was unmistakably the same place he had left moments ago, but the air carried a crispness that hinted at a time not his own. Details were slightly off: the shadows were longer, the colours of the moorland flora were more profound, and the silence draped a denser blanket over the terrain.

Alex's thoughts buzzed as he tried to piece together the clues. Now quiet behind him, the machine seemed like a relic already integrating into this slightly altered world. He turned to observe it, half-expecting it to vanish, leaving him stranded in this unfamiliar version of familiar grounds.

As Alex's eyes adjusted to the light and his surroundings, he quickly noticed another machine on the field. His gaze first fell on the original machine beside which he had initially discovered Ry-Lan. It sat ominously a short distance away, its surface reflecting the morning sun with a gleam that seemed simultaneously familiar and foreign. A figure, unmistakably Ry-Lan, emerged from this other machine, his movements unsteady and cautious as if every step was a monumental effort. Alex watched, his heart pounding, as Ry-Lan staggered, leaning on the machine for support.

Turning his attention back to his immediate vicinity, Alex realised with a start that the machine he had just exited was positioned slightly differently than where he had activated it. The grass underneath it was undisturbed, suggesting it hadn’t crashed but materialised seamlessly in this new location. This subtle displacement was a silent testament to the machine's capabilities, reinforcing the reality of his temporal journey. The implications of this realisation sent a shiver down his spine, intertwining awe with a deepening sense of the complexities he now faced in the woven tapestry of time.

Alex turned back to watch Ry-Lan collapse to his knees, overwhelmed or exhausted by his journey. This scene mirrored the past, a living replay of what must have happened after Ry-Lan first arrived. The realisation of witnessing the events immediately following Ry-Lan’s arrival anchored Alex’s swirling thoughts: had he travelled back to the very day Ry-Lan had appeared on the Yorkshire Moors?

With a heightened awareness of responsibility, Alex hurried towards Ry-Lan, retracing the steps he knew led to the man in need. As he approached, the details of Ry-Lan's condition became clearer—the same disorientation and laboured breathing he had seen before. Yet now, knowing what he did, each observation carried the knowledge of their shared displacement in time.

Alex reached Ry-Lan, barely conscious and murmuring incoherently in the same cryptic language as he had spoken before. Kneeling beside him, Alex felt the echo of their first encounter, a surreal doubling of moments across time. He reached out, trying to offer comfort or aid, but Ry-Lan's eyes barely flickered in recognition. The man was lost in his own ordeal, as unreachable now as he had been in the future.

4c) Encounter with the "Other" Alex

As Alex tried to stabilise Ry-Lan, a faint noise from the opposite direction caught his attention. He lifted his gaze and froze, his breath catching in his throat. Not far from where he knelt, another figure stood—a man who bore an uncanny resemblance to himself. This other “Alex” was stationed near a third machine, its presence as incongruous as the first, angled away behind his own machine.

This doppelganger was not just passively observing but was actively recording the scene with a phone. The surreal realisation of looking at himself, separated by mere moments or dimensions, sent a shiver down Alex's spine. The other Alex seemed just as perplexed, his actions cautious and deliberate as he captured every detail of the scene unfolding.

Driven by a profound sense of responsibility, Alex hesitated only momentarily, watching the figure that mirrored his every feature. He felt a fleeting connection to this other Alex, a surreal acknowledgement of their shared, bizarre circumstance. But a cry from Ry-Lan forced Alex to turn his attention back to the immediate urgency. As he shifted his focus, the other Alex and the third machine faded from his consciousness. Alex’s resolve hardened as he tried to help Ry-Lan, who seemed increasingly unstable with each laboured breath. Despite the language barrier and Ry-Lan's weakened state, Alex attempted to communicate, offering words of reassurance that felt hollow in the vastness of their shared displacement.

Ry-Lan's eyes met his briefly, a glimmer of recognition—or perhaps gratitude—in his gaze before slipping back into a fitful half-consciousness. The pressure of what had happened and the overlapping realities or timelines bore down on Alex, making him acutely aware of the fragility and complexity of their circumstances.

Alex steadied himself beside the now silent Ry-Lan, his mind ablaze with the implications of what he had just witnessed. The presence of multiple instances of himself interacting with the timeline almost independently solidified his suspicion: he was not just traversing back and forth in time but potentially across overlapping timelines.

The quietness of the farm was punctuated only by the distant sound of the machines, a reminder of the technological marvel that had brought him to this moment. Each breath Alex took felt laden with the burden of his newfound understanding. The environment, so familiar yet altered by the events he had witnessed, seemed to echo his turmoil.

4d) Understanding and Another Jump

Determined to gain control of the events and perhaps to return to his original timeline—or at least to a version where he could make sense of these anomalies—Alex returned to his machine. His steps were measured, each one taken with a deep awareness of the extraordinary circumstances he was navigating.

Upon reaching the machine, Alex paused, with the card in his hand hovering over the panel he had previously activated. His previous fear had transformed into a resolute need to understand and perhaps control the machine’s capabilities. He recalled the sequences he had inadvertently initiated and considered the possible outcomes of another jump.

He decided with a mixture of caution and desperation. He needed answers, and the only way to seek them was to engage further with the machine’s mysterious technology. With a deep breath, he initiated the sequence for another jump, his mind focused on the potential repercussions. He was aware this could spiral further into chaos or lead him closer to unravelling the time-bending puzzle.

As the machine began to hum, signalling the start of another temporal transition, Alex braced himself. He reviewed everything he had observed and learned so far, trying to predict where or when he might end up this time. The digital display flickered to life, the familiar countdown beginning anew.

With each passing second, the intensity of the situation grew. Alex's thoughts turned inward, questioning the nature of reality and his place within these unfolding mysteries. As the machine vibrated under the increasing power of its operation, he prepared for the unknown, ready to face whatever time—or times—might reveal next.

As the machine's hum subsided and the bright light enveloping Alex dimmed, he cautiously stepped out with his senses alert to any new changes. The scene of the farm greeted him once more, but subtle differences in the positioning of nearby objects and the sun's angle suggested that he had returned to the same timeline again.

4e) Emergence and Revelation

Alex climbed out of the machine and was confronted by the other two machines. He watched in stunned silence as another version of himself emerged from the nearest machine, about ten metres away. The surreal sight of his own figure stepping out into the daylight was disorienting, amplifying the strangeness of the entire ordeal.

Not far from where this other Alex appeared, Ry-Lan was near the original machine from which he had first been discovered. Ry-Lan's movements were laboured and unsteady; his form slumped against the side of the sphere as if seeking support from its solid structure.

Compelled to document this bizarre experience, Alex pulled out his phone. He began filming the scene, capturing the eerie stillness punctuated only by the soft mechanical whirring of the machines. His camera panned over the area, recording the juxtaposition of familiar farm elements with the incongruous technology intruding into this rural setting.

As he continued to film, the other Alex moved towards Ry-Lan, who lay still near the original machine. The footage captured his approach, showing his careful examination of Ry-Lan, who appeared just as he had left him—unconscious but alive. This other Alex then looked at him, and he felt a strange déjà vu of this event that had happened just minutes ago.

The machine's gentle hum faded into the background as Alex stood motionless, phone in hand, recording his own disoriented movements from moments before. The sight of himself on the small screen—his past self rushing to aid Ry-Lan—was unnerving, yet it solidified his understanding of the complex temporal web that entangled him. Each action he witnessed reminded him of his choices and the inexplicable reality he now faced.

Alex then stopped the recording and put down his phone, his thoughts full of the data he had just collected. The visual record was not just for his report; it was a beacon of sanity in the chaos, a way to anchor his experiences to something tangible.

His recording captured the surreal tableau: two versions of himself and multiple iterations of the same event playing out from a different perspective each time. The quiet of the morning, punctuated only by the occasional mechanical whir from the machines, added to the otherworldly atmosphere.

As he stood there, the magnitude of his situation pressed down upon him. The farm, a place of life and growth, now held a dual role as the stage for a profound cosmic puzzle. Alex knew the answers he sought were tied not just to the machine or Ry-Lan but to the very fabric of reality itself. A web of temporal anomalies ensnared him, each jump through time revealing more layers and leaving more questions.

Determined yet daunted, Alex prepared to engage with the machines once again. He knew his journey through time was far from over, and each step brought new revelations and challenges. Resolve and unease filled him as he looked at the silent, humming machines. The path forward was uncertain, but Alex Harper was not one to shy away from the unknown.

4f) Cliffhanger End

Alex’s thoughts raced overtime. The realisation that he was not just crossing into different times but potentially creating overlapping realities was overwhelming. The implications were vast and unsettling. How many timelines had his actions influenced? What were the consequences of his presence in these repeated moments?

Standing beside the humming machine, seeming to pulse with an energy of its own, Alex felt a profound sense of isolation. The moors around him were quiet as if holding their breath at the unfolding drama. He was far from home in more ways than one, disconnected from his time and any familiar reality.

With the significance of his discoveries bearing down on him, Alex tried to think what he should do. The silence that followed was heavy, filled with the echoes of his uncovered truths. He was alone with his thoughts, the vast Yorkshire Moors expending no comfort, only a harsh reminder of his solitude.

"How can I get home?" he thought. The machine beside him gently hummed, its presence a constant reminder of the unknown forces at play.

As he stood there, contemplating his next move, the machine emitted a soft beep, a signal that it was ready for another journey. Alex's heart skipped a beat. Was he ready to face what came next? Could he ever return to the life he knew before?