Synopsis

by Brenda Krekeler

ONE

Madeleine Maxwell’s head teacher, Mrs. Sibyl De Winter told Madeleine not to define her family circumstances. Mrs. De Winter told Madeleine she could help her. Madeleine accepted her help. Mrs. De Winter had her read about Ancient Egypt to start.

Ten years later Madeleine, aka Max, got an email from St. Mary’s Institutes of Historical Research. They were a branch of Thursk’s College. Max went to an interview for a job at St. Mary’s. There, at her interview, she met many people before and/or during her interview.

Chief Technical Officer, Leon Farrell was introduced to Max. The head of St. Mary’s, Doctor Edward Bairstow seemed to be the first person who was interviewing Max. He asked Max if she wanted to witness an historical event. She initially said the Trojan War, then the Spartans, next she chose Stonehenge.

Dr. Bairstow told her she could only observe and document only. Interaction is strictly forbidden, regarding time travel into history, of course.

Max was so excited about the prospect that she had “a shithot party.”

Max learned that the Historians wore blue, Technicians wore orange, IT wore black and Security wore green.

The #3 pod was due back soon. Some pods are out, some are test pods and two of the pods, #4 and #7, are lost. The rescue attempts had failed.

Max saw the pods and asked to see everything else. She was introduced to the other technicians, IT people, Security and Historians.

TWO

Sussman was a trainee, as well as Grant, Nagley, Rutherford and Stevens. Everyone’s department titles were gone during their training. Trainees received vaccinations, and giving blood was a regular procedure to build up their bank. Bairstow introduces the trainees to the faculty. Max’s first lecture was with Chief Farrell and next with IT, Miss Izzie Barclay.

Max and Sussman were teamed up. Big Dave Murdock was on the technical fighting team with Whissell and Major Gutherie. Max and the trainees practiced and practiced SIMS. Then they had to go out for survival training. All four of the trainees did other things. Max stayed with Major Gutherie’s pod. Tuesday was the final exam.

THREE

Max is going to Shewsbury in the year 1400 for her solo test in pod #8. The exam was for each jump individually. Max will be gone six hours for her time at Shewsbury and only 30 minutes for Chief Ferrell at St. Mary’s.

Max jumped and was in Shrewsbury. She found herself in a grass field. Her pod wasn’t working for the six-hour return. Several days later she thinks this is the test.

FOUR

Kevin Grant was the first to jump back to St. Mary’s. He returned having been killed. Max waited eleven days. She knew her rations were good for 10 days and hoped they would have her return. They did start her pod and she returned successful and with high scores for her exam.

Max and Peterson’s next jump was as a team. They went to England and saw a giant block fall and almost kill them both.

Max’s next jumps went well for the next year. Then her and Sussman went to WWI. Max worked in a hospital and saw Sussman maybe once a day. The day for them to jump back to St. Mary’s there was a terrible fire that broke out in the medical buildings where Max worked. It was a panic.

FIVE

Both her and Sussman made it back home, but not without some burns on Max. Sussman was just fine as he was staying in the pod.

Chief Farrell checked in with Max as she was recovering. Max started using charcoal and drew the entire explosion and fire and death on the wall of her hospital room.

Kal disliked Sussman because he didn’t help anyone but himself at the fire. Kal and Sussman never went on another jump together ever again.

Max received a beautiful Trojan horse with an opening in its belly from Chief Farrell. He had carved it just for her.

SIX

Dr. Bairstow told the recruits they needed to fix their initial documents.

Sussman was not a Jedi Knight, Maxwell was not 5’7”, Markham should not write an invitation for sex, Dieter’s other interests were against the law and Black was not oppressed nor a minority.

Sussman and Max got a BIG JOB: The Cretaceous Period, 67 million years ago with dinosaurs. They would have three months of preparation prior to the jump. Once there they would have another three months to collect their data.

SEVEN

Chief Farrell wanted to ask Max about their future together but put it on hold until after she returned from the Cretaceous.

Chief Farrell told Max in confidence that he, Leon Farrell is from the future. He had two sons, Alex and Stevie. There was a flu and his sons died. Leon discovered via DNA that neither of his two sons were his biologically.

Leon told Max that people from the future stole three pods to make money. Edward Bairstow and himself are fighting here at St. Mary’s to keep the thieves from becoming powerful. Edward brought one pod from the future to found St. Mary’s and Leon arrived later.

EIGHT

Max and Sussman jumped to the Cretaceous. The Cretaceous was green, volcanic and had dinosaurs. The first 10 weeks went well. Both Sussman and Max worked creating all the necessary data required. About 14 days prior to their jump back to St. Mary’s, Sussman lost his mind and tried to attach Max. She stopped him aggressively. He said he was sorry, but he lied. Keeping the assignment ongoing they started data gathering. Max was hit on her back, fell and was caught in an avalanche of debris and she passed out. She woke up under the debris. After hours of freeing herself from the tree, she climbed up the hill. She found blood and a foot of Sussman’s. She suspected a raptor took him. Max ran to her pod, #8.

Max was in shock for two days. She got herself together, cleaned up the pods and continued her work for the remaining time at the Cretaceous.

Just before going back home to St. Mary’s, Max watched the dinosaurs at the lake taking in the spectacular view, then she jumped.

NINE

Dr. Bairstow, Chief Farrell and Mrs. Partridge met with Max and showed her the tapes of Sussman’s sexual aggressive behaviors. No one else will see the tapes; they will be destroyed. Dr. Bairstow asked Maxwell not to discuss Sussman’s behavior to anyone.

Chief Leon Farrell showed another tape to Max by herself. It showed that Sussman had hit Maxwell and knocked her down the hill and that another man, Ronan, was there with him. They wanted Max dead.

Then Ronan and another man slashed Sussman. The other men left quickly; Sussman was then killed by the raptors. Max saw it all on tape.

Leon took Max to a Mediterranean Island, 5000 years ago. Leon told Max that Clive Ronan blames Dr. Edward Bairstow for Annie Bessant’s death. Leon helped Max for two days while at the Mediterranean so she could allow the events to settle in her mind. Once back to St. Mary’s, Max presented a money-maker for St. Mary’s by selling their HOLO’s to the public. Their premier was a spectacular success.

TEN

The Chancellor and Senior Faculty of St. Mary’s watched the HOLO and were mesmerized and adopted all finances necessary to complete the HOLO venture to the public.

Leon and Maxwell drove home. On the way, Max said she would give Leon sex and he wrecked Bairstow’s Bentley. Dieter picked them up but only after Leon and Max had hot sex on the bonnet of the car.

ELEVEN

Max got Dieter to join her in a short jump to the Cretaceous. Dieter and Maxwell discovered troops of men and machinery near the lake. They were hunting and killing dinosaurs.

Their pod started slipping down the hill due to an attack of all kinds of dinosaurs near the lake. Dieter and Max jumped into their pod and made it back home as the pod bounced around the hanger. They were rescued and their tapes of the event were retrieved.

St. Mary’s decided to send in an attack to kill and destroy the monsters who were hunting the dinosaurs. Three pods, full of security and ammo jumped to the Cretaceous with Max leading one of the pods.

Max heard the pulse fire and everything went black and silent then the screaming started. The pulse had unlocked the cages and the dinosaurs were out.

Barclay told everyone that four men were dead. Barclay leaped into a pod and jumped by herself. Barclay left Chief Leon Farrell, Major Guthrie, Peterson and Markham in the Cretaceous.

Upon their arrival at St. Mary’s, Max wanted to return to claim the four bodies but the leader, now Barclay, said no and she kicked Max out of the program and out of St. Mary’s.

Max found herself at Rushford. Max had stayed at St. Mary’s for five years.

Now she spent three months in a two-room dirty apartment developing a cough. She went to a Free Clinic and passed out. She was in the hospital for four days after clearing her cough and in the process, she lost a baby. She was booted from the hospital and she just standing in the rain.

TWELVE

Mrs. De Winter, Maxwell’s old teacher, found her after she was released from the 4-day stay. She had Max stay with her at her house. Max was given the Trojan horse that Leon carved for her. Mrs. De Winter’s sister, Mrs. Partridge saved it for Max. Inside the Trojan horse, Max discovered Leon’s remote for his personal pod. She clicked it and his pod came to the backyard of Mrs. De Winter’s house.

Max plans to return to the Cretaceous and get Leon before he was killed. She wants to rescue the four men: Guthrie, Farrell, Peterson and Markham.

Max had her supplies, she left Mrs. De Winter at her home and Max jumped to the Cretaceous. She sent up flares on a regular basis and defended a T-rex. All men made it to the pod including Max.

THIRTEEN

They all survived back to Rushford and ate and drank. Max went to bed exhausted.

Bairstow and Max discussed Barclay who left the four men and how Max would openly address Barclay’s wrong doings publicly and with “extreme prejudice.”

“Hawthorn” was a security word that Ian Guthrie shared with Max.

They all, including Mrs. De Winter, went into the pod and jumped to the paint room at St. Mary’s. Max stepped quietly near Barclay’s morning briefing.

FOURTEEN

Director Barclay told everyone that the explosion had killed Chief Farrell, Major Guthrie, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Markham.

Max entered the briefing and explained what Barclay had done. Then, the four men entered. Everyone except Barclay was thrilled. Barclay told Max that she would finish her. She swore.

Then, Max punched Barclay in the nose and broke it.

Leon said to Max, “You broke your hand.” Max said, “Yes.”

Max went to sick bay and she will rest and eat for a week. No work. Her friends came to her room bringing some of her old clothes.

Barclay told Leon Farrell that Max was pregnant and lost the baby. Farrell was furious because Max had not told him.

Max was attacked by everyone but Peterson. Max and Peterson got drunk. Mrs. Partridge found Max and told her Dr. Bairstow wanted to see her.

Dr. Bairstow gave Max his apologies for the extreme behavior she had endured. Bairstow gave Max and Peterson three days to resolve their resignation.

Peterson went to see Helen, and Max found Leon and they both cried and cried.

Max couldn’t sleep so she cleaned out her sport bag and inside a sleeve found something.

FIFTEEN

She had found a fir cone. It was partially burned. Max created a plan, a new direction for St. Mary’s.

Max was called in to see Bairstow. He listened for four hours about Max’s plan. Later, she brought food to Leon, and she fell asleep.

Max met with the heads of St. Mary’s and Bairstow told Max she would present her proposals tomorrow at 11 am.

Her proposal was presented in terms of search and rescue. Max set out her proposals on three different levels for the historians.

Ultimately, they realized they could rescue the Dodos.

SIXTEEN

St. Mary’s geared up for the next few months to rescue library scrolls from Alexandria. All multiple pods and all employees were ready to jump. Max made the call to jump to the library at Alexandria.

SEVENTEEN

Things went wrong. Initially they were an hour late and the library was ablaze. They gathered as many tubs as possible. Oil and flames covered everyone and the library was gone.

Peterson initiated their jump and they were all alive and well in the desert where they were going to stash the rescued scrolls. About 1500 to 1700 scrolls were retrieved.

Then they were hit with gun fire. Everyone with weapons were firing against the attackers. But they were attacking from the back. Morning found them on their knees and looking at an arsenal and Ronan.

Ronan was dangerous. And Barclay was there wanting to kill Max. Max lost her left arm. Farrell found her. Farrell had set a trap for Ronan when he jumped in one of their pods.

EIGHTEEN

Max found her arm between her shoulder and wrist. She had been laying on it. Max recuperated and helped get the scrolls in the cave.

It took them six months to store the scrolls in their time but only three months gone based on St. Mary’s time.

Dave Murdock and Jamie Cameron died during the attack. Their names were placed in the commemorative hall.

EPILOGUE

There was a giant party at St. Mary’s and thoughts of finding Shakespeare’s final sonnet.

Characters

Madeleine Maxwell – Historian

Sibyl De Winter – Maxwell’s teacher

Leon Farrell - Chief Technical Officer

Dr. Edward Bairstow – Director of St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research

Davy Sussman – trainee, Historian

Izzie Barclay – IT faculty

Dave Murdock – Security

Major Ian Gutherie – Security

Kalinda aka Kal – Historian

Mrs. Partridge – Food Director, Mrs. De Winter's sister

Clive Ronan – Evil

Dieter - Technician