Free Fate (Wilton's Gold #3) by Craig W. Turner Page A

possible. Remember, it was eighty years ago, so it wouldn’t have been George Mellen himself. Perhaps his family.” Dexter paused for a moment. “Though, again, nothing had come up in the PCS. I would think that would have been an easy one for the system to find, so without it there was no cause for concern.”
    Now Jeff’s hand was in the air, thought it was probably too dark to see. “You’ll have to forgive me,” he said, “but I’m just getting up to speed on all of this. Can you go over the research and evaluation process for me? Obviously there’s a hole in the system that can’t account for passed-down accounts of family lore that might not get put into a written historical document, but I’d like to know how a person applies for a mission and gets approved. If you don’t mind me interrupting.” He looked around the table for approval, and received a few nods.
    In the dim light, he couldn’t see Dexter’s facial expression, so he couldn’t know his reaction to the question. Dexter started into an answer, though. “Anyone with the wherewithal to afford a time travel mission is given thorough genealogical, associative and psychological analyses. Our system, housed here at the USTP, analyzes billions of pieces of data for historical connections between the participant and the time and location they wish to see. Each participant then undergoes a rigorous psychological exam performed by Dr. Graham.”
    Jeff looked the other direction at the attractive young doctor, who kept her eyes face front. Now he knew her name, at least. Then he turned back to Dexter. “Has anyone ever been shot down?”
    “No, not yet.”
    “Really?” He was smiling in the dark, mainly because he knew nobody could see him. “Has anyone expressed a desire to participate in the time travel program, but... I don’t know... Needed a suggestion as to where and when to travel? Like they thought time travel was cool, but didn’t have their own idea where to go?”
    “No.”
    “And you said sixteen people have gone through the program?”
    “Yes. Well, that’s counting Kane, who now, technically, has not gone through the program.”
    He hadn’t meant to put added pressure on Dexter, but he was becoming more and more cynical about the Time Program as the conversation progressed. Really, it was his other self who seemed to have had great influence on how the program was run, but even with his scientific knowledge, he wasn’t more powerful than the almighty dollar. He’d already figured out the simple truth: if you could shell out enough cash, they’d make the trip happen.
    “Dr. Jacobs,” Bremner said. “Are you going somewhere with this?”
    He shook his head. “No. Just trying to get an understanding of the program. While you haven’t told me why I’m here, I’m assuming that it’s to help determine a solution for the Kane situation. Which I’m more than willing to do. In fact, having just gone through a similar scenario, I’m more than confident there’s a way. We can save the debate on the morals of doing it for after we figure out the logistics. But there are two holes in my understanding that I need them filled in order for me to make sound decisions: the intricacies of Kane’s specific story, which I’m learning now; and, two, the intricacies of the Time Program itself. That’s where I’d like to dig in. In fact, I’d like to actually go through all of the steps that someone would take to prep for a mission.”
    There was a hearty laugh from the end of the table near Dexter. It was the general. “Hell, you designed most of them,” he said. Everyone else thought that was funny and joined him. Jeff strained to see, but he didn’t think Dexter was laughing.
    “I don’t imagine that’s a problem,” Bremner said, looking both ways down the table. “Dexter? Victoria?” He started to give the approval, but Dr. Schmidt interrupted him.
    “Before we get to that,” Schmidt said, “let’s finish up with