Please see part one for disclaimer.
Time travel is _very_ hard on the body. Just ask Kimberly Hart. If it's
happened, she's seen it. And boy, has she seen a lot! Sure, she knows the
rules - ixne on the interfering with past events. And yes, she has a job
to do, but in the end, it's just, well, fun.
But sometimes Kim, uh...bends the rules. Y'know, when "the fate of
the universe lies in the balance", she'll do what she has to do. It's
just like walking across the balance beam - one must maintain balance.
But one day she slipped.
Is it morning? she asked herself. Judging from the rays of sun blasting
her face, she concluded that it was.
As she slowly opened her eyes, the familiar voice of Spot chimed in:
"Gooooood morning, Kate. Riiiiiise and shine."
"I've got the rise part down," she groaned as she slowly sat
up in her large bed.
"But I'll leave the shinning to the sun." She spun around and
slowly managed to put her feet on the cool floor. After wiggling her toes,
a habit since childhood, she put on white slippers and proceeded to the
kitchen.
"Any mail?" Kate asked as she came into the cramped kitchen,
which mearly comprised of a small table with two chairs, a small refrigeration
unit, a hydrate unit, sink, a single cupboard and a temp-surface.
"Checking..." replied Spot, her home/personal assistant. "Nope."
"Oh well." She proceeded to the small cupboard where she pulled
out a pot.
"Spot, would you please ready the surface - heat five."
"It would be my pleasure."
She mouthed 'ya right' and turned to the sink. "Water, hot."
The VRS had been specified to such simple commands as 'hot', luckily for
her. A steady stream of water began to flow from the tap. When the pot
was full, she told the tap to stop, and then placed the pot on the temp-surface
- a large black sheet on her counter.
"The surface is ready," Spot said.
"Thank-you," she said mockingly. Out of the fridge she took out
two eggs and small chunk of brown material, which frankly looked like a
little piece of mud She placed the eggs into the pot to boil, and then
proceeded to put the hunk, which was multi-bread, into the hydrator and
pressed a few buttons.
Multi-bread may have been old-fashioned, but she had grown up on it, and
it hadn't done her any harm.
When the eggs and bread were done, she placed them on a plate and sat down
to eat. She contemplated watching the news, but decided against it. As
she ate, she wondered how _real_ eggs had tasted.
"So what's on the agenda today?" asked Kate as she downed a piece
of bread.
"Hmm, let me see..." Spot said. "See for yourself."
The tiny monitor by her table blinked on, showing her schedule. "Must
be your lucky day."
"Why's that?" asked Kate, looking over the screen.
"Well, Mr. Hall is sick today, so you have...NO CLASSES!"
"Whoopee." While most students would jump at the announcement
of no classes, especially none of Mr. Hall, whom she had for the entire
day (usually), this simply meant that she now had nothing to do all day.
She wasn't behind in anything, leaving her with didly-to-do.
"Why so glum, chum?" asked Spot. The small screen blinked again,
and now there was a computer-generated dog looking at her. Spot.
"What am I supposed to do now?" asked Kate through a mouthful
of food.
"Oh. Good point."
After some heavy thinking, Kate Glenn finally decided to go for a run -
something she hadn't done for a while, and something her body needed. It
wasn't until she looked in her closet that she realized that the only workout-suitable
clothing was all white - each piece. Although she initially felt stupid,
something - some other _feeling_ - made her feel comfortable. Oh well.
And so, after reaching the ground from her third floor apartment and stretching,
she took off. Her feet were a little uncomfortable, as she had never used
the sneakers she was currently wearing.
Her medium length brown hair was tied back in a ponytail. It had clouded
over slightly since her waking, but it was still warm non the less. A slight
breeze kept her soft face cool.
She was coming up on Oliver Park. It was definably one of the better places
to jog in the city, simply because of the trees.
She ran along a path sided by large poplar trees. Slowly, stretching far
above the mighty plants, was the Oliver space-scraper. Kate stopped for
a moment to gaze up at. She had the strange feeling that she was being
watched.
Ignoring the feeling, she continued into a clearing where the path swung
to the right, continuing alongside the building. Up ahead a man, dressed
in a black suit, was seated on a bench, looking down at the ground. Although
Kate couldn't see his face, she could guess what his expression was.
She continued past the sorrowful man, who didn't look up, and then turned
right, back into the seclusion of the trees.
Suddenly, she felt a slight pain in her side. Kate staggered to a stop,
and tried to catch her breath. The pain had stopped, but now she felt dizzy
and light-headed.
Her mind seemed to be filled with light. No, _lightning_. Lighting bolts.
Blue and white. Then red.
"What...?"
"You ready?"
"Always."
"Alright, you know the deal. Yadda yadda, don't interfere."
"Um-hmm."
"Let's strap you in."
She did up her straps, making sure they were tight (she hated whiplash).
"Good luck." The dome closed over her.
"Catch ya on the flipside."
The burst of light, and then nothing.
"Our conquest is near. Can't you taste it?"
"Taste what?"
"Victory, you fool."
"Oh." Pause. "What does it taste like?"
"Silence fool. Ha! They don't suspect a thing. Not a thing...
