The Collection

Copyright © 2012 by Chris Monaghan.

Library of Congress Control Number:               2012915783

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

CHAPTER 1

King’s College—Dublin—Closed Lecture— 24 August 2015, 10.15 a.m.

CHAPTER 2

A Chance Happening—Geneva, Switzerland— 2 September 2015, 12.30 p.m.

CHAPTER 3

Another Disaster—Geneva, Switzerland— 4 September 2015, 8 a.m.

CHAPTER 4

British Museum, London—9 September 2015

CHAPTER 5

A Colourful Unknown—No Clear Date

CHAPTER 6

The Message and the Use of the Mind— No Clear Date

CHAPTER 7

Egypt—Karnak—Temple of Amun—1465 BC

CHAPTER 8

The Roman Forum—Outside the Curia Hostilia—24 BC.

CHAPTER 9

Fermilab—California— 10 September, 2018, 4.12 p.m.

CHAPTER 10

Greece—The Peloponnesus— The Lion Gate entrance to Mycenae—1450 BC

CHAPTER 11

CERN—Geneva, Switzerland— 4 February 2019—All Day, 8 a.m.

CHAPTER 12

Crete—Phaistos—1450 BC

CHAPTER 13

Fermilab—California—8 a.m. to 10.10 a.m. Outside Pozieres—Belgium—25 July 1916, from 10.15 p.m. to 12.15 a.m.

CHAPTER 14

The Way Home—Fermilab—4 September 2020, 8.14 a.m. and CERN—Same Date and Time

CHAPTER 15

4 September 2020, 8.15 a.m.

CHAPTER 16

10 September 2021, 8.30 a.m.

CHAPTER 17

Back to the end—23 August 2022, 8 p.m.

Dedication

Dear Kate, you are my rock.

It all started with a piece of paper and a pen

No one had ever seen an operation of this magnitude in Dublin.

Before dawn, every street surrounding the city had been cordoned off by heavily armed police wearing riot gear. Air space above Dublin was now off limits, and even the sewer system was being rigorously checked. They were taking no chances.

Finally, a fleet of ambulances and Hazmat teams followed, through the now empty streets, adding to the serious nature of what was happening within the exclusion zone. Dubliners now started to worry.

At the centre of the authority’s concerns were the austere halls and lecture theatres of the original 1592 King’s College. There was a frantic rush to secure the integrity of this facility from what appeared to be a serious hazardous biochemical spill. It was impossible for even the most avid member of the press to discover what was happening.

As the Hazmat teams alighted from their fleet of vans, there did not seem to be the degree of urgency that one would expect from an operation of this size. Sure, they wore the bright orange Hazmat suits and breathing apparatus, but they moved as a group far slower than one would expect for such a potential catastrophe. Something was not quite right.

They all then disappeared from view into Lecture Theatre No. 1.

Outside the riot squad police, military helicopters and the army secured the site and ended any notion of a sleep-in that day. Something big and secret was afoot.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, you may remove your Hazmat suits now,’ said Dr Jean-Paul du Preez. ‘Our attendants will collect them, but you will obviously need them again on your return journey.’

Looking around at the assembled audience, Bryce Barrigan noticed he was in the company of the best and brightest minds of the world’s scientific community. He pondered as to why Dublin was chosen. It seemed an odd place for any major meeting. Why not Paris, or London, or, for that matter, New York? What was even stranger still was that the major heads of government and the leaders of the main worldwide security organisations were also there despite King’s College being ranked as only the nineteenth best university in the world. It also seemed incongruous that these people, who were involved with the cutting edge of the most recent developments in scientific technology, were there at all. This was bigger than anyone could have imagined.

Obviously, Dr Jean-Paul du Preez felt the most comfortable in an environment where he was conducting a detailed scientific lecture, but his main issue centred on guaranteeing the secrecy and security of the delegates in attendance at the conference. At the same time, he still had to make them all feel comfortable. Dublin, he reasoned, did provide the most relaxed and informal atmosphere in which delegates could work and liaise more efficiently, especially after the chaos and repercussions of the 18 November 2009 accident of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva. Scientists and other academics were keen to quash Internet news rumours of financial excess as well as scientists ‘out-of-control’, playing with technical developments, which could bring on dire consequences beyond their ability to contain. This was all despite their successful discovery and testing of the Higgs Boson particle, and its observation within a massless universe on 14 November 2011. However, scientific excesses were beginning to take their toll on the already-fragile global markets, and many world leaders felt the need to rein in their financial commitment to the project.

It was under this sensitive and secretive state of affairs that this top secret meeting took place.

CHAPTER 1

King’s College—Dublin—Closed Lecture—

24 August 2015, 10.15 a.m.

‘The determining factor that has led me to associate the revamped French Project with one of the safest scientific exercises of modern times is the safeguards that my esteemed colleague Dr Jean-Paul du Preez has now put in place. His tireless work in the area of psychomagnetics and nanotechnology over the last ten years has advanced these areas of study from mere vague visions, where the various elements of matter could be extracted individually, into a science where the possibility of viewing the actual elements of raw matter itself may soon be revealed,’ Dr Jason Petrie promoted. ‘This new area of study, I predict, will soon allow men and women, using elemental restructuring, to view the past. This, in turn, may actually allow us to be able to see the great figures of history, view how men and women were able to create such constructions as the pyramids and possibly even see how, and under what circumstances, our friends and relatives either died or disappeared,’ Jason Petrie concluded.

Petrie persisted after a brief pause, ‘It also may allow us to even move through time using nothing more than the power of our collective minds.’

There was a rising din of disquiet that spread throughout the lecture theatre as Dr Jason Petrie proceeded to open the minds of his audience to the possibilities that this unique experiment might create for all mankind. It was not just the ethical issues associated with analysing and viewing the past but also the fear of what lay beyond the curtain of scientific and ethical mystery. Did, in fact, people really want to know what happened in the past or were other concerns far more immediate? Did the general population have paramount in their minds the concerns over the continued work on the development at CERN that was leading to a far greater knowledge of the Higgs Boson particle, or did the accidents in 2009 and 2012 put them off? It seemed that the scientists had won the day for the moment, and all work was to continue with more financial and military aid being pledged from both large and small countries, despite the current economic global downturn.

This ‘invitation only’ group of academics, military people and those from various intelligence organisations did seem to be genuinely confronted by Petrie’s suggestions. Due to the eminent nature of the lecturer, most were not prepared to dismiss his comments out of hand. It did seem that with the amount of money being sunk into this project by France, America, India, Britain, Switzerland, Germany, China, Japan, and even Australia, not to mention NATO, the CIA, Mossat, MI5, and ASIO, a significant interest by major nations and security groups in the ‘French Project’ was illustrated. They all wanted a major stake in the project so they could all share in its successful outcome. After all, it seemed that no country or major security organisation would want to be left out of any possible benefits or positive implications associated with any new scientific or military findings or discoveries. In fact, America, under their ‘Overseas Technology Support Scheme Fund’ had, in 2013, already allocated between 5 per cent and 8 per cent of its GDP to just the initial construction and technical support work, which would then be increased on a sliding scale, as the Secretary of State Sarah Williams said, ‘ . . . to whatever it takes.’

‘Now, I would like to invite my esteemed fellow colleague Dr Ellen Singh to explain further the details of our current experiments and the implications these may have on the world as we know it,’ said Dr Petrie to the assembled audience, who, by now, had gone silent with shock. They were ready to jump on any detail that seemed incongruous with their current beliefs.

Ellen Singh, who had been listening attentively, now slowly stood up. She was a diminutive figure with long raven hair and an athletic appearance that was obviously hidden under the guise of a poorly fitting blouse and pleated tweed skirt. However, in this company, her academic and scientific track record demanded absolute respect, and everyone there knew it.

She slowly approached the lectern and in a soft tone said to Jason Petrie, ‘Thank you, Mr Petrie, for those kind words.’

Jason whispered, with a smile on his face to Ellen, ‘I’m sorry I spoke for too long. I hope you didn’t think that I had forgotten you, Dr Singh.’

‘Of course not, Mr Petrie,’ she replied, whispering in a slightly sarcastic tone. This dealt a blow to his pride as she was to be the keynote speaker and Jason loved to be referred to as Doctor, due to his Ph.D. credentials, and Ellen knew it.

Moving closer to the microphone, which Petrie had by now abandoned without too much obvious complaint, Ellen spoke assertively, ‘It may seem to most of my esteemed colleagues that what Dr Petrie has been saying is all nonsense and the stuff of fantasy. However, I am here to assure you all here today that what Jason has said is true and viable and that, as a result of the generosity of the many contributing nations and organisations here with us today, we have successfully completed our first scientific trials into what I call Mind Travel.’

There was an audible hush in the lecture theatre. Scientists looked at each other in amazement, except for the few who already knew what was coming.

Without changing her facial expression, Ellen continued unabated saying, ‘This new field of scientific endeavour is designed to allow man to move back in time or forward in time and dimension. At the moment, we have successfully transferred a pen and a piece of paper back in time to a sealed room from a time of thirty seconds in its future. This was made possible by the combined efforts of the French and Swiss CERN Project and many other contributors around the world. We are currently working to improve the particle accelerator at CERN, so that, in consultation with the Fermilab Tevatron in California, which has been recently upgraded, we hope to move much larger objects, such as a person in a shuttlecraft through time, merely by the use and focus of our own computer, the power of their mind,’ regaled Ellen with her seemingly uncompromising attitude.

By now, Bryce Barrigan, who had been an old intellectual sparring opponent to Ellen at Cambridge, and later at Oxford, Sydney University and Macquarie University, but focussing more on the field of archaeology, now sprang to his feet. His weather-beaten Australian face was almost beetroot with rage. This presented a strange contrast to his sun-bleached, blonde hair and azure blue eyes.

‘What so-called scientific proof do you have to support this preposterous assertion, young Miss Singh? The allegation that this pen and paper experiment seems to me the stuff born of fantasy!’ Bryce said angrily.

The emphasis on ‘young’ had always been a sore point between the two, especially as Ellen had received her Ph.D. from Oxford merely a few minutes before Bryce. However, since that time in 2005, Ellen had gone on to establish herself as one of the world’s foremost authorities in physics with a specialisation in nanophysics and nanotechnology. The success with which she continued her climb up the intellectual ladder only served to infuriate Bryce even further.

Bryce always went out of his way to publicly humiliate Ellen at every opportunity, especially after their relationship disintegrated last year. She eventually broke off their involvement citing that he was stifling her creative energy. All that came after their steamy, yet overly brief love affair she’d had with him in Paris during the summer of 2014. This break up had such a profound effect on him that he could barely stop thinking about her. On the other hand, Ellen had immersed herself in her work and had not thought about Bryce, until now. However, this thinly veiled personal attack was clear to all present, and it was more than obvious that Bryce had an axe to grind his esteemed colleague. But Ellen was going to have none of this. As always, her rapier wit cut him down to a point where all men present were squirming in their plush leather seats.

‘Mr Barrigan,’ she began confidently, ‘with all due credit to your academic credentials, minimal as they are in this particular specialist area of expertise, I must once again reiterate that successful scientific experiments are verified by an international panel of independent experts, in which you are not included. These experts, as you are well aware from your archaeological investigations, include rigorous examination of all the data and how it was collected in order to confirm any findings. Believe me when I say that what our team has produced is correct. The names of the panel of experts are presented on pages thirty-four to fifty-six of your Confidential Notes, if you would care to scan your eyes over them.’

Bryce was stunned as he briefly scanned the pages in question that he hadn’t previously read and found that it read like a who’s who of the world of physics, psychomagnetics and nanotechnology. It was at this point he realised that all was quiet and all the eyes of the lecture theatre were fixed upon him. The discomfort he felt at that moment was nothing compared to Ellen’s next comment.

After a painfully long pause, Ellen resumed, ‘Now that that little problem has been resolved, we will now move on to the specifics of the project.’

For the rest of the lecture, Bryce Barrigan did not hear another word that Ellen or anyone else said, for his blood was boiling and he had made a commitment to himself that he would do all in his power to destroy the reputation of his fellow colleague and the woman he had once loved.

As the scientists adjourned for a lunch break in the anteroom, Bryce remained seated with Ellen’s words still ringing in his ears. He was a lonely figure in the vaulted lecture theatre, but it was not too long before Jason Petrie ambled back into the lecture theatre and quietly sat down beside Bryce with his cup of boiling tea and a scone. Both said nothing for a long time, instead staring straight ahead with a fixed gaze at the now empty rostrum.

‘She’s quite a piece of work,’ Jason Petrie eventually commented with a tone of deep exasperation that seemed to empathise with the suffering Bryce was experiencing. ‘You know she still loves you,’ he said, taking a tentative sip from his teacup.

Turning to Jason, Bryce, barely getting the words out, replied, ‘She drives me to distraction, Jason, but she is the most alluring and intelligent woman I have ever met. Whilst I still feel something for her, it is more of a destructive love or hate relationship. I regret that it will be impossible for me to participate any further in this program. I can’t stay any longer. It’s killing me, mate.’

As Bryce was speaking with Jason, Ellen waltzed into the lecture room to collect her papers, totally oblivious of the situation and the issues that were being discussed. She halted in her tracks and stared, being puzzled at the reasons why those two esteemed academics had not joined the others.

Looking at Ellen, Jason got up and excused himself saying, ‘I hope Jean-Paul has not eaten all the croissants.’ He whispered to Bryce, ‘I shall see you when the lecture resumes.’ He then moved off, passing Ellen on the way. ‘An inspiring lecture so far Dr Singh. I can’t wait for the second half. It sounds fascinating,’ he commented ironically as he headed towards the antechamber door of the lecture hall.

Bryce grunted and stared straight past Ellen, saying nothing.

After she had gathered her papers and was about to depart the lecture theatre, Bryce spoke. ‘What were you trying to do to me just then Ellen? I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life.’

Ellen halted in her tracks, wheeled around and slowly came over to Bryce, walking like a catwalk model. She sat uncomfortably close to him, causing a singular bead of sweat to appear on his now defensive brow. Bryce immediately shifted in his seat. He found himself staring at her. There still seemed to be chemistry there, but it was a chemistry of lust rather than love. Maybe it was her perfume that was exquisite. They had purchased it on their visit to Paris where the two of them had spent a week of Parisian passion, shopping indulgences and gourmet delights. That was over a year ago, and life had changed dramatically.

It was always her intellect that impressed Bryce the most. All those who had read any of her dissertations or books or sat in on any of her lectures found her, and what she had to say, extraordinarily enlightening and alluring. Whatever it was that was gnawing at Bryce was a distraction that he had to ignore, for he had been hurt too deeply by Ellen in the past in both word and deed. He did wonder sometimes whether she even knew that such a hurt was being enacted, being so tied up with her work. Had she actually ever loved him? Was Ellen even aware that he even existed outside the field of academia and scientific endeavour? Whatever the case, as far as Bryce was concerned, he had been played around with for too long, and now that was all over. But there was still that little voice in his head that was screaming out to grab her and take her in his arms and make love to her in the lecture theatre right now. He could also read it in her deep brown eyes and her quivering lips. He longed to have his body planted firmly against hers, to feel her warmth; in short, to love her unconditionally.

‘It seems that my gruff manner has upset you again, which I seem, too often, to be accused of by my colleagues and those I love,’ replied Ellen in a tone that was the closest Bryce had heard in the way of an apology in a very long time. It was most refreshing.

After a very long pause, Bryce plucked up the courage and spoke directly to Ellen in a quiet and considered manner in order to establish a degree of superiority from his point of view.

‘Dr Singh, pardon me, Ellen, I apologise for my outburst earlier as I was so damned pissed off by your earlier remarks and comments that basically cut me to the quick, both personally and academically, in the midst of our colleagues that I just reacted in an arrogant and irresponsible manner. But you seem to think that just because you are probably more intelligent and certainly more beautiful than most women, you have the right to say to me whatever you want, cause me grief and make my life a misery,’ said Bryce, getting more worked up by the second.

After that mini-diatribe had finished, Bryce realised that firstly, he had been rambling, and secondly, Ellen’s eyes were welling with tears. There was nothing he hated more than to make a woman cry and especially the one whom you love.

Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck and nuzzled her large wet eyes into his naked neck. ‘Please, forgive me, Bryce, for what I did to you today and the way I have been treating you since we left Paris last year.’ Tears were now flowing freely from Ellen as she enthusiastically began kissing Bryce’s stubbled neck and cheeks in a repentant manner, which quickly turned to delicate touching on his face, forehead and, after what seemed like an age, as far as his desire was concerned, his lips. The adventurous exploration of Bryce’s mouth by Ellen’s tongue was more than he could have hoped for or expected at this point in time. The passion that was exuded during this tongue-lashing raised the sexual expectations of both to fever pitch. This would have continued unabated until its natural conclusion had it not been for the return of the delegates into the lecture theatre.

For the remainder of the lecture, Bryce sat mesmerised by every feature of Ellen until she completed her lecture. Once she resumed her seat on the stage, nothing else seemed to matter. He did not even bother to listen to what was being said by General Crosley, former SAS leader of Australian troops in Afghanistan, and his words of wisdom. Bryce was far more fixated by his newly, now reinvigorated lust he held for Ellen, which had not previously presented itself on any occasion to this degree. Bryce began to wonder why he had not noticed the elegance of her aquiline neck before. The pertness of her lips, her breasts, and the allure of her smile were now beaming across the room. Her raven hair now glowed like amber through the stained glass window at the far end of the lecture hall. She was the epitome of femininity itself.

‘Surely, by now’, he thought to himself, ‘everyone must know that we are up to something.’ Then he considered the implications for a while and immediately dismissed them, reasoning that it really did not matter, and it was no one else’s concern, so long as they did not let their work get in the way of their love for each other. They were in love all over again, and no matter what the end result would be, he planned to enjoy this joyous moment as long as it lasted.

Light afternoon refreshments were now being taken in the antechamber attached to the main lecture hall. This opportunity was speedily snapped up by Bryce to stealthily prowl after and ogle Ellen across the now crowded floor of hungry academics. To him, she appeared to move as if floating on a zephyr of air that had lifted her only a few millimetres off the ground, moving her from one corner of the room to the other. Bryce followed like a hungry lion slowly stalking his prey. It was fascinating for the rest of the assembled academics. Everyone now appeared to stop eating and was glued mesmerised to this fascinating mating ritual that danced slowly and deliberately in front of them. They stood dumbfounded, almost voyeuristically focussed on the enthralling display taking place directly in front of them. It started to become embarrassing.

It was then that a young guard, in a very neatly pressed Swiss military uniform, walked up to Dr Jean-Paul du Preez and handed him a note. The professor’s face visibly went white—whiter than it normally was—and he immediately rushed to consult with Ellen and Jason Petrie as Bryce looked on with a feeling of dread building up in his stomach.

Eventually, Jean-Paul stood aside from the rest and, in a tone that indicated something was amiss, spoke to the assembled academics.

‘Could I have everyone’s full attention please,’ he said darkly. ‘It has just come to my attention that there has been a serious accident at the Geneva facility of the Hadron Collider and that the proton accelerator has, in the last few hours, reached critical mass. I strongly suggest that all essential personnel report to Geneva as soon as possible to deal with this problem. I will not pretend that this is a not a very serious event. However, I am sure that with our group of brilliant intellectuals and engineers, we will overcome this problem very soon.’

After an uncomfortably long pause, Jean-Paul insisted, ‘All the information at this conference, given so far, as well as the latest problem, needs to be kept absolutely confidential, in line with the International Secrets Act of 2012.’ He went on, ‘Let me assure you all’, speaking slowly and assertively, ‘we have the personnel, the know-how and the expertise to not only solve the current situation but also create an even better proton accelerator if the need arises. If you would excuse me, we have a great deal to do. From Professor Singh’s calculations, we have less than two days in which we need to stabilise the imbalance within the gyroscopic accelerator, along with any other problems that have resulted from its imbalance. I would also like the following members of our advance critical incident team to please assemble in the briefing room immediately. They include Professor Singh, Dr Jason Petrie, General Crosley, Sarah Williams and Bryce Barrigan.’.

Ellen and Jason looked at each other with deep furrows on their brows. They, better than most, realised the full potential of the situation, and they were filled