Colonel John Adams, Rydel, and Will sat at a white oval table inside another ubiquitous white room at the Genesis lab. Rydel had asked the two men to meet him in the room. Time had taken a toll on Rydel, his body now dangerously thin. There was also something with his eyes; they looked eager and at the same time hollow. Rydel held his hands up to his lips as if he were praying and then lowered his hands on the white table before him.
"Placement is ready," Rydel said in a matter-of-fact tone. "We've had two successful times out. Now is the time for Placement to do what it was meant to do."
The colonel clasped his hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair. "Rydel, we didn't change anything in the past. We only traveled back."
"By traveling back, didn't we in some way change the past by us just being there, John? There's really no more testing we can do. It's safe."
Colonel Adams turned in his chair to face Will, seated next to him. "Will, your thoughts here?"
"I agree with Rydel."
Rydel leaned closer to the colonel. "It is time, John."
The colonel stood up.
"I'll talk to the general. If it's a go, we will test it in Japan. I have to be at Blackburn next week. And I'll be one of the ones going out to oversee what we change in the past."
The colonel left the room and was on a private jet twenty minutes later, ready for takeoff.
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The jet had him in Arizona in less than five hours. When John called the general, the man set aside everything he was working on and told John to meet him ASAP to go over Placement's next stage. The general, like John, knew the day would be approaching soon for Placement to be fully tested. But both had their reservations.
After the jet touched down in Arizona, a tan JLTV truck drove John to the general's location twenty-five minutes away at a military base nestled between twin mountain peaks. Their towering presence gave the appearance they were guarding the base named Mountain Peaks 1776, nicknamed Ridge. With the advanced technology and number of men overlooking Ridge from the twin peaks, that was exactly what the mountains were doing.
General Dowling, a man of medium build with thick gray hair and blue eyes and dressed in uniform, greeted John as he stepped out of the truck.
"John."
"Hey, Lyle."
"Let's take a walk."
After walking just over a mile, the two had made it halfway up one of the guardian mountains before the first word was spoken.
"It's up ahead," the general said.
"What is, Lyle?"
"The only place around here I feel comfortable talking about Placement."
The two walked on for another twenty minutes and reached a mountain cave. Just as they entered the cave, the general held up a hand for John to stop.
"Here is good."
Enough sunlight from outside lit up the cave so the two could still see each other and a little of what was behind them. Standing by the cave's round opening, they were able to see the base below lit by the afternoon sun.
"So Rydel and Will want to change something in the past," the general bluntly said.
John sighed a little. "They do."
"You sound as excited about the idea as I am. Do you think it's time? Has every possible test been done to make sure it's safe, John?"
"Will and Rydel believe they are at the point with Placement where the next step has to be taken. They have nothing left to test. However, I will be going back with two other men. And I'll decide what we will change in the past, making sure it's an obscure moment in time."
General Dowling took a couple of steps away from John and stared down at the base, casually kicking away a few small rocks by his feet. With his back to John, he nodded. "Do it," he said, and began to make his way back to the base below. John followed.
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By nightfall, six hours later, John was on a jet headed back to Genesis. Looking at the moon outside the private jet's window, John felt he had somehow let the general down with the way he was handling Placement. Lyle was a friend away from the job; they were close. Both felt more testing should be done, but John did not have a valid reason to wait any longer. He had overseen the project for almost two years now. It was time to use it. As for the general having the same feelings about holding off until further testing could be done…it was disconcerting. Everybody else involved with Placement seemed gung-ho for the next step to be taken with the project.
It was a gut feeling both men had. But Rydel was right; it had to be used to its full potential eventually. And the scientists, along with Rydel and Will, were exasperated. There were no more tests to be done. It was time.