Chapter One

            Desperation made people do some strange things.  Roger York looked at the sleeping girl, then gently checked her pulse yet again.  Endless weeks mapping DNA strings on the fastest machines in existence.  Even more months carefully searching for the perfect hiding place as others developed the tools to keep prying eyes away.  All for an experiment that could take an innocent life that had no reckoning of the risk she was taking.  Worse yet, Roger had little hope that it would succeed.

            Roger ran his hands through his soft brown hair, not short nor long, cut so he could go as many whens as possible.  He looked around the room, double-checking everything, especially the power sources.  They would be all right.  But what effect would the suspend an have on Elizabeth?  Nobody had tried it over a hundred years, and Roger was bringing the girl forward five hundred and fifty plus.

            The only thing more dangerous would be to bring her forward through the time drop.  He'd drop in and wake her up every fifty years as it was.  She seemed a strong, intelligent woman, in spite of her ignorance.  Hopefully, her mind would be strong enough.

            As he picked up his hand unit, he checked everything once more, then entered the coordinates for fifty years ahead.  It was odd, but the timetron landed him within seconds of the coordinates he entered.  It had never done that before.  Must have been the power source so close.  He brushed Elizabeth's lips with his own.  Her eyes flickered open.  She smiled at him.  He was smiling back.  At least that part of this fool’s enterprise was working.

            Each fifty year jump felt better than before.  Elizabeth showed no visible effects from her time asleep, nor did what few instruments Roger had show any.  The special locks that prevented anyone from even thinking about entering the room were working perfectly.  He left the 1990s almost bursting with joy.

            Just a few years into the 21^st century, a small ion retainer on the door fizzled and sputtered.  The rest of the card flared up and died as quickly.  A minute later, the door creaked open.