Free The Left Behinds and the iPhone That Saved George Washington by David Potter

down a hall to a sitting room. The floors are very creaky. Dr. Franklin uses a cane, and his right foot drags somewhat, as if he can’t put weight on it. He motions at some stiff wooden chairs for us to sit on. Then, with a great deal of show and effort, he plops himself down on a very small cushioned armchair, which sinks with the weight of him. He lays his cane down, adjusts his spectacles, and then opens his palm. My iPhone.
    “So then,” he says. “Who have we here? And why have you come?”
    Daniel, being properly of the time and place, takes the lead. “We—my sister and I—come from upriver. Thirty miles north, where my parents have a farm. A pair of strange German men, dressed as ordinary farmers, have bargained with my father for the use of his farm for ashort while. ’Twas there we met our new friend here,” Daniel says, and nods at me. “He’s not from these parts. Not exactly, that is.”
    “And, sir,” says Elizabeth, “worst of all? General Washington has been murdered. We saw his body. By the very same Germans my brother spoke of.”
    “Oh my dear Lord,” Dr. Franklin says. “Oh my good dear Lord.” Then he lurches forward involuntarily, as if someone has just socked him in the gut.
    Which someone has.
    We give him a moment and watch, helpless, as the old man winces, and rocks, and then heaves. “Oh my good dear Lord,” he says again. “What will ever happen to us now? We shall have no army. Only Washington could gather them. Only Washington could lead them. And only Washington could get them to fight. We are sunk without him. My God. I never thought it would happen. Never for a second did I harbor any doubt whatsoever. I was sure, sure in my bones, that we were favored by the Almighty. That independence was our destiny.”
    “It was,” I say. “And it is. That’s what we’ve come to talk to you about.”
    Dr. Franklin blinks. Then he waves his hand. “About our destiny? About independence? But now all is for naught. If Washington is dead, I am quite certain our revolution is defeated.”
    “Dr. Franklin,” I say, “let me give this to you straight. I am of a different time. The twenty-first century, to beexact. And there has been some mistake: General Washington was not supposed to die. In fact, he
cannot
die. The future of the whole world depends upon it. We’ve come to you to help us figure out a way to
undo
what’s been done. And I’m pretty sure the key to it is sitting right there in your hand. It’s called an iPhone.”
    Dr. Franklin looks down, sees the thing in his hand, and drops it on the floor, like it’s the hottest potato in history.

TWENTY-SIX
    “H EY, MAN !” I SAY . “Easy!” Then I reach down and pick up my phone, which feels good back in my hands:
my precious, my precious!
    And I don’t mean to be rude or anything, especially not to one of America’s Founding Fathers, but the floor is made of wood, you know? He could have broken it, and then where would we be? I do a quick inspection; luckily everything still works and the glass didn’t break.
    “Dr. Franklin,” I say. “We’ve come to you for help. This device?” I hold up the phone. “It requires electricity, which you invented. We’re hoping that there’s some way you can provide it for us.”
    Dr. Franklin glances at Daniel and Elizabeth. “Is this so?” he asks them.
    “It is,” says Daniel. “Our only hope rests with you.”
    “Please listen to him, Dr. Franklin,” says Elizabeth. “We have no other choice.”
    “Well,” he says, leaning back in his chair. “I wouldn’t say I
invented
electricity, exactly. It’s been around since the dawn of earth, naturally, in the form of lightning, and many a court jester has been able to generate a charge of static electricity by the use of a long glass pipe, rubbed back and forth just so. But, to give myself what I hope is not undue credit, I would say that I was among the first to try to discern some of the physical properties of