Free Second Time Around by Nancy Moser Page B

and I will be there to cut things off when I think it’s appropriate. We want to make this as painless as possible.”
    Vanessa sighed. “I’ll do whatever it takes, Mr. MacMillan. Please know that.”
    Mac looked at her. He’d done research on her life. She was the recipient of many awards for volunteerism. Definitely a giver. He foresaw no problems with her at all.
    “Big groups don’t bother me,” David said. He winked at Lane. “And you’ve obviously got that one down.”
    She smiled. A good sign. Mac continued. “Now, as for your actual journey tomorrow. Once again, we will pick you up at the hotel, then deposit you into individual waiting rooms at the TTC building, where you will change into scrubs so you’re comfortable during your journey. Your family can be with you as you wait so you can say your good-byes.”
    “I’m going solo,” David said. “How about you ladies?”
    Lane answered first. “Me, too.” Her face looked a bit sad.
    Vanessa looked worried. “My father, my husband, and my daughter are going to be there. If you’d rather they not be…”
    “They are very welcome.”
    She seemed to relax. Mac continued. “When it’s your time to go, I will take you into the Sphere—”
    “It’s rare to see an actual geodesic dome,” David said. “I would have liked the contract on that one.”
    “The Sphere houses the working area of the Time Lottery,” Mac said. “Inside are a team of doctors, technicians, and a few dignitaries looking on. You will lie down, and we will attach some life-support monitors, IVs, a catheter, etcetera.”
    “Fun,” Lane said.
    “Essential,” Mac said. “Once you are settled, our medical staff will position an fMRI device around your head, pinpoint the Loop portion of your brain that holds your memories, and give you a dose of the Serum in the form of a shot. The Serum acts as a magnifier for your thoughts.”
    David made a face. “Work on making the Serum in pill form, eh, Mr. MacMillan?”
    “Next you will be asked to think of the time you wish to visit and the choice you’d like to make differently. You will fall into a deep sleep, similar to being put under anesthesia, except your mind will be wonderfully awake as you enter the past. Your consciousness will quickly adjust, and you will experience your Alternate Reality—your Alternity—totally innocent of the future, of how things were the first time around.”
    “But we’ll make a different choice,” Lane said.
    “You will. As you’re traveling into your Alternity, you’ll be concentrating on the choice you want to make differently. With the help of the Serum, when the moment of choice comes, you will feel strongly urged to take one path over another. That’s when the power of the mind, the power of suggestion, takes over. After that, you will be free to live out the consequences of your new choice.”
    “And you can’t intervene?” David asked.
    It was an odd question. “No, we can’t. You are alone. You are human. You are vulnerable to all the laws of nature.” He shook a finger at them. “So risk wisely. If you die in your Alternity, you die there.”
    “But would we die here in the present?” David asked.
    “No, but your second chance will die.”
    Vanessa raised her hand. “You say ‘risk wisely’ …isn’t this whole thing a risk? I mean, time travel…”
    “The risk is minimal. Since your body isn’t going anywhere, since we have medical personnel monitoring you every moment, and since you are experiencing all this within your mind—we are merely enhancing and directing your own thoughts—there’s not much to go wrong.”
    “Famous last words,” David said.
    Mac could have used fewer comments. “After seven days in your Alternity, we will initiate an electrical charge to the Loop portion of the brain. It will give you the ability to regain your ‘real’ memories. We call it ‘Dual Consciousness.’ It lasts only about an hour, but it’s plenty of time for