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“I’M AFRAID THAT WE are on our own for this flight. No attendants, you see,” Senator Scott continued, “so if there is anything you’d like, we’ll have to help ourselves.”
“I’m parched,” Dominic said, rising. “Want something?” He turned to Tonita.
“Water would be fine.”
“You’ll find bottles in the refrigerator in the galley.” Senator Scott pointed to the box structure, walled off from the rest of the aircraft located by the cockpit door, in the front of the plane.
Dominic hesitated, looked at Tonita. Waited. Then said, “Right. Tonita won’t you help me?”
“For a few of bottles of water?” Senator Scott shook his head. “Come on, boy. You can do it.”
Dominic made his way to the galley and retrieved several bottles of water from the refrigerator, noting that it was stocked with several bottles of Veuve Clicquot, Guinness beer, and Genesee Cream Ale—an ale he had never heard of. He reached in picked up two bottles of water and a can of the cream ale. He returned to his seat, handing off two of the bottles of water to Tonita and the Senator, keeping the cream ale for himself.
“Ah, a wise choice.” Senator Scott nodded in the direction of the cream ale. “A unique beer I discovered somewhere along the way. You’ll let me know what you think?”
“In just a minute.” Dominic smiled as he popped the tab on the top of the can.
“You have heard of Bermuda Triangle?” Senator Scott said, turning the cap on the bottle of water, breaking the seal.
“Of course.” Both Dominic and Tonita spoke.
“Then you have an idea of what our experiments are capable of?”
“I don’t follow,” Dominic said, after downing nearly half the contents of the can in his hand.
“The Bermuda Triangle is another direct result of the time travel experiments that we’ve been conducting these many years.
“Those experiments made planes and ships disappear?” Dominic took another swallow from the can. “This is great by the way.”
“I thought you might like it. Not easy to find though.” Senator Scott watched as the water condensation on the side of the bottle in his hand collected and began to run down the side. “The Triangle is a cover. Well, let me say that the legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a cover story propagated by the governments to cover up the truth.”
“Governments?” Tonita wondered aloud.
“At first it was the Russians, masters, you know, of manipulation. We learned how to weave plausible stories around our experiments to hide them from the public.” He paused, lost for a moment. “Rasputin was the first. In June of 1908 there was a large explosion over Siberia that destroyed a huge area of land and several villages. No one knows for sure how many people died. But the ground in the impact zone is still contaminated to this day.”
“I remember reading that a meteor or an asteroid hit in that area,” Dominic interrupted.
“Well, yes, that is the common story. The cover story, if you will. Rasputin was really much ahead of his time, as was Albert Einstein and Werner Von Braun. Rasputin had the ear, and dare I say, more, of the Tsarina Alexandra, and she would do anything for him. She did do anything for him. He convinced her that time travel was possible and that Russia should be the first to recognize this great new technology. And that he was the one who should oversee the experiments. The Tsar Nicholas was less than enthusiastic. At the time there were many troubles brewing in the country and he did not trust Rasputin. Alexandra convinced Tsar Nicholas that the experiments Rasputin was conducting would turn the sentiment of the country in favor of the Tsar, and the people would then rally around her husband. That, as we all know, did not happen.”
“They were all assassinated. The entire family, even the children,” Dominic added.
“Yes, that is true, but that would not happen for some years after the 1908 experiment. Perhaps, Alexandra was right in thinking that the country needed some great invention—the color-slide projector had been making its rounds in Russia and it was all the talk. Just think what an announcement that the Russians had conducted the first successful time travel experiment would have done?” Senator Scott contemplated his own question. “I don’t believe the Russian people of the day would have accepted it, even if the experiment had succeeded. Rasputin built a simple, by today’s standards, generator to turn magnetic energy into electricity. We used the same approach, but Einstein was the master at improving the Rasputin method. Rasputin was right on track. But with the vast amounts of unstable nitroglycerin and coal he used to produce the energy needed...well, hindsight is twenty-twenty, they say. If Rasputin could have controlled the detonation of the nitro, burning the coal and turning the combines, he may very well have succeeded. Unfortunately, the nitro could not be controlled and the resulting explosion killed many and scarred the land. Alexandra was devastated when Rasputin returned from Siberia and told her of the failure. It was she who devised a cover story for the destruction. Obviously, Rasputin had his hand in the cover up, as I doubt sincerely that Alexandra would have come up with the meteorite story on her own. That was brilliant really. Ask anyone in the old Soviet Union about the blast in 1908 and you’ll hear the same response. A meteorite.” Senator Scott sipped from the bottle.
Dominic took the opportunity to ask, “What does the Bermuda Triangle and the ships and planes that have been lost have to do with Rasputin’s experiment?”
“Good question,” Senator Scott continued, “The ships and planes lost to the Bermuda Triangle were the results of much later experiments.”
“By the Russians?” Tonita asked.
“No, no. The Russians have their own missing aircraft and ships in an area they call Kapustin Yar. The Bermuda Triangle legend, however, is a direct result of the experiments carried out by the U.S. government.”
“So, the Russians and the U.S. were working together?” Dominic leaned forward in his seat.
“The Russians were the first to experiment with time travel. Rasputin’s experiment in the forests of Siberia was the very first large-scale experiment. Of course, as far as we know, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union, including early Tsarist Russia, may have been conducting laboratory experiments. I know for certain that we were.”
“So, the Russians weren’t involved with the U.S.?”
“In the Bermuda Triangle? No.” Senator Scott paused for moment. “You must remember that the U.S. and the Russians both, under the Tsar, and later under the Soviets, were in competition with one another. The Russians were the first in space. That was a huge blow to all of us in both the space program here in the U.S and in...” he paused once again, “Let’s just say other travel exploration programs.”
“Time Travel exploration.” Tonita said bluntly.
“Yes, time travel. I have kept too many secrets and it’s not easy for me to tell you all the things I must tell and all that you must know.”
“The U.S. wasn’t really much of a power in the early nineteen hundreds. How was it possible for the U.S. to compete with the Russians?” Dominic sat back.
“It wasn’t. And in the early stages, the U.S. could not keep up. Rasputin’s experiment was funded by the Tsarina, which meant that it had unlimited funds. The U.S. was shocked that Rasputin and the Tsarina had attempted such an expensive and technologically advanced experiment, but could do little at the time to invest the huge amount of funds needed to conduct our own experiments. If the Soviets and the U.S. had worked together in the early years, we could have saved many lives and billions of dollars. As it was, the U.S. couldn’t commit the resources to the experiments until after World War One when we began to toy with the idea of time travel. By World War Two, however, we were totally committed. Then, we had a new rival and enemy. Germany was moving closer to a successful experiment. Although, as we understand it, on small scale. The Nazis concentrated on a plan they called, Schrittrückseite—Step Back. It was not the huge undertaking that we and the Soviets had become immersed in. Instead, Germany put all of its many scientists on the Schrittrückseite program, concentrating on stepping back only moments in time, not the decades and centuries we had been concentrating on. It seemed minute. But just think of what havoc the Nazis could have imposed on all mankind if they were able to go back in time. Not a year or a day, but for only a moment. That is when the U.S. government turned to a new ally and vast source of money.”
“The Brits?” Dominic asked.
“The British were far too small and had far too little power. No, the U.S. turned to another government, a much more powerful government, one with unlimited wealth and one with the ability to control information and propaganda like no other government on Earth.” He paused, breathing in deeply. “The Holy Roman Catholic Church.” Senator Scott looked up to the heavens. “The Vatican became our co-conspirator and our benefactor.”