The ballroom of the Capital Roadside Inn filled up quickly as the line of people moved steadily across the marbled burgundy carpet, each securing one of the black, stackable banquet chairs lined up from wall to wall and filling the rows from front to back.
Seating capacity was listed at 140 but there were at least 20 more than that – enough to make a fire marshal nervous had he been present.
And who knows? He might well have been; it’s not often you’re given a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill to listen to a presentation that – according to the advertisements sent out via social media – would last no more than 20 minutes, guaranteed.
“Find your seats, everyone … please, find your seats,” said the host of the event, Booker DelRay.
Tall and sinewy, DelRay was a scientist by trade, although his silver onesie, bright red eyeglasses and high-top fade made him look more like a Met Gala fashionista than a researcher in the Physics Department at Howard University.
“OK, we’ve got some men and women in the aisles who are gonna hand you what looks like a watch, and I’m gonna explain to you that it’s much more than that.”
The item in question did, indeed, look very much like a watch; it was dark blue and circular with red digital numbers in the center and smaller yellow numbers below them. Once in their hands, those in the audience gave them the once over before turning their attention back to the speaker.
“What you guys are holding is called the Time Traveler 3023,” DelRay said, walking toward the gathering. “It’s a timepiece in the truest sense because it allows you travel through time.”
As expected, that last line drew laughter, and DelRay managed a big smile himself. “Don’t believe me?” he asked before pointing at a woman in the front row. “Hi … hi, there … would you stand up please? I promise I’m not going to embarrass you.”
A twentysomething brunette wearing blue jeans, flip-flops and a Donald Duck T-shirt slowly rose to her feet.
“Look at your Time Traveler 3023 and read off the numbers for me, if you don’t mind,” he said.
She centered the device in her left palm and observed it briefly.
“The red ones say 7:07 and the yellow ones say 0,” she said with a grin.
“Great. Now, I want you to walk out of the ballroom and go to the front entrance of the hotel, then turn around and walk back to your seat. There’s no rush, but if you guys want to get out of here in 15 minutes, you probably need to go at a pretty good clip.”
She quickly headed for the aisle and started toward the exit, drawing all of the eyes in the room. Most of the attendees sat quietly as she made her journey, one that was swift and, apparently, uneventful.
“Thank you,” DelRay said as the young woman returned to her seat. “Now, read aloud the numbers on your TT3023.”
“The red says 7:09, the yellow says 197.”
DelRay then looked across the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, what you’ve just witnessed is time travel,” he said. “When this woman left, it was 7:07 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. When she returned, it was 7:09. She traveled two minutes and 197 steps into the future.”
A collective groan went up from the crowd. DelRay chuckled. “OK, that was lame, but that’s how we like to market this product,” he said. “It has no batteries, yet it’s guaranteed to keep perfect time, all the time. Plus – for all of you exercise enthusiasts – it’s an easy way for you to keep up with your steps every day.
“But we want everyone to know about the TT3023, which is why my associates are heading toward the aisles now and going to give each one of you 25 more at absolutely no cost. You made $100 here tonight, but now I want each of you to bring 25 friends – and they have to bring their 25 time pieces – to the D.C. Civic Arena one week from tonight at 7 p.m., and not a minute later.
“Once we’re assembled, each of them will get $100 and each of you will receive $2,500. We believe in this product so much we’re willing to lose money to eventually make money. Thank you all, and safe travels going home.”
DelRay briskly trotted out the side door entrance to the ballroom while members of the crowd excitedly made their way to the parking lot and, no doubt, began calling and texting their friend and acquaintances. He had previously reserved a room on the first floor, and once he reached the door, he swiped his key and went inside.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a TT3023, and placed it face down on the small desk situated in the corner of the room. “Status report,” he said.
Seconds later, a small hologram appeared above the timepiece, projecting the image of an Asian man who – like DelRay – was also wearing a silver onesie. “Sir, we distributed over 2,000 TT3023s here in Beijing, and we did similar numbers in Hangzhou and Chengdu,” he said. “No word yet from Russia and Great Britain, but confidence is high all the quotas have been met.”
DelRay exhaled.
“Good job, Ling,” he said. “I’ll check in with Canada and Mexico and see where we stand, there. I wish we could’ve harvested more time particles from the black hole to power these things, but we got what we got. We have only one shot to get all these people transported to 3023, and getting them all in position at the same time next week is imperative.”
DelRay rubbed his eyes, then looked at Ling.
“After the nukes start dropping, any survivors from 2023 will have to start over with sticks and stones.”
