Free The Legend of Things Past (Beyond Pluto SciFi Futuristic Aventures Book 1) by Phillip William Sheppard Page B

Donovan had suddenly thought that his grandfather was
slightly insane. The memory came through in a flood.
     
    ***
     
    “And what is the logical conclusion? If we cannot
disassemble the atoms and reconstruct them elsewhere? What do we do?”
    The thirteen-year-old Donovan stared at his grandfather,
willing the answer to him. Sometimes he wished he could see into his
grandfather’s mind and make copies of the information there for himself.
    Tobias had a fire in his eyes that Donovan was all too
familiar with—it was as if Tobias wished he could turn the cogs in Donovan’s
mind and make him come to the right conclusion.
    Donovan often felt as if his brain was dusty, muggy even,
compared to his grandfather’s. The wheels in his mind were not properly oiled and
would not work as smoothly.
    Donovan ventured a guess. “Then we should…”
    Tobias’s eyes widened, an expectant expression on his face.
He looked a touch crazy, as if he would lose his mind if Donovan gave him the
wrong answer.
    “…We should bend the space-time continuum, which eliminates
the need to break down the atoms in the first place.”
    “Precisely, my boy! Precisely!” The look on Tobias’s face
was euphoric, like he’d come to some life-changing realization. He was so happy
that it made Donovan laugh.
    “That’s it. I knew you could think of it on your own. You
have my genes, my boy. No mistakes there.”
    Donovan grinned, proud of himself and grateful for his
grandfather’s praise.
    “You could go far in the sciences you know.”
    “I don’t know…”
    “Of course you could! Do you know what you just accomplished
here?” Tobias had a maniacal gleam in his eye. “You just discovered the secret
to teleportation! On your own, at the age of thirteen.”
    Donovan just smiled and let his grandfather rant. He had yet
to tell Tobias that he didn’t want to go into the sciences—he wanted to join
the army, like his father. Donovan wasn’t sure he’d ever work up the courage.
For now, he just let Tobias shove information into his brain.
    “Granted,” his grandfather continued, “you did have me to
help you. But there are plenty of adult physicists who can’t figure this stuff
out with or without help. I think my genius skipped a generation. Your father
wasn’t very much good at this.”
    Donovan became still and his smile faded a little. Here
we go.
    “He joined the army to be a weapons specialist . As if
that would do any good for the world.”
    Donovan had heard this story a million times.
    “He was smart. I know he could have gotten it, had he just
tried, but he was lazy up here.” Tobias pointed to his temple. “All he wanted
to do was shoot people. Completely uncivilized. Complete waste of talent.”
    “Maybe he just wanted to fight to protect people,” Donovan
said, surprising himself.
    His grandfather gave him an odd look. “He just wanted to
hold a gun and feel powerful. He could have saved people with science.”
    “Maybe that just wasn’t his way of helping. Maybe he was
meant for something else.”
    The way Donovan said it must have triggered Tobias’s
suspicion.
    “Are you having doubts?” he asked. “Do you want to join the
army like your father? Specialize in guns and fighting?”
    Donovan didn’t answer. He glared at his grandfather.
    “You do remember that it was being an army specialist that
killed your father, don’t you?”
    Donovan shrugged. “He died a hero.”
    Suddenly, Tobias was on his feet. “He died a fool!”
    “Not everyone can be a genius!” Donovan snapped back. “Not
everyone was meant for this.”
    His grandfather was breathing as if he had just run a
marathon.
    Donovan glared back at him. With something close to
desperation he said, “Not everyone can be like you.”
    Tobias stared at Donovan as if he’d been struck—but he
wasn’t really looking at him. Donovan stepped off his stool and took a step
forward.
    “Grandpa?”
    Tobias’s eyes came slowly back into focus. His