THE MOMENT
Dr. Gregory Cane was prepared to bet his life. It'd been over a year since he invented the possibility of time travel; but, he'd kept it to himself. He spent time learning how it worked and tested different possibilities within seconds, minutes, and hours. Now, it was time for the big leap to days. He converted a bomb shelter into a lab. He included a variety of clocks and a stockpile of various supplies along with extra parts. He was only planning for a few days; but, he'd learned time was unpredictable. If things went longer, he hoped the supplies would hold him over until he found his way back.
An hour ago he sealed the shelter and began his pre-flight check. Now, he was done and sitting on the seat in silent contemplation. It was May 7th, 2018. At 38, he'd had a pretty decent life. He was always a bright kid and a hard worker. He chose to focus on his career instead of a family, and he never regretted it. The plan was to devote the first half of his life to his career, then explore family life if there was time. His dream was never as grandiose as changing the world; but, with his plan decided, he wanted to create an opportunity to make the best of that second half. He studied time to search for a path to longevity and he discovered how to move through it. He didn't think he'd found the exact secret to immortality; but, if this worked the way he expected he would be comfortable retiring and enjoying the fruits of all his hard work.
"Well... I guess I'm waiting for nothing...," He made one more decision in a long string that led him to that point as he reached forward and pressed the big red button. It seemed appropriate, he didn't know if it would work properly or explode, or worse. He held his breath as he engaged the chair. His eyes were wide open behind safety goggles. He did his best to keep his surroundings in sight because he wanted to see what would happen; and, somehow, he missed it. It looked like he blinked; but, that was only because, for a fraction of a second, he was in a black, empty void. His eyes were still open when light returned; but, his shelter was nowhere in sight.
He looked around to take in the vast empty space. The floor was mirror-polished chrome that reflected the endless warehouse ceiling up above dotted with skylights. It wasn't at all what he expected; but, he wasn't surprised until he noticed a teenage girl sitting at a desk nearby. She hopped up as soon as he landed and approached him while he searched the area for danger.
"Hi, congratulations on unlocking time travel," She smiled but kept a respectful distance and waved. "My name's Eury, and this lab belongs to Chroma Corp.," she said. She seemed innocent if not harmless, and she wore a translucent purple visor over her eyes that gave her a certain 'futuristic' credibility. Greg was curious enough to find out more and left his seat.
"Hello... I am Dr. Cane..," he spoke slowly. "When is this? What is Chroma Corp.?"
"It's May 7th, Sharp Standard Time," Eury giggled along with the answer. "Chroma Corp. is one of the biggest corporations in the Multiverse. This place catches time travelers for multiverse orientation. Now that you found it, you've gotta learn how it works," she said.
"May 7th..? What year?" he took another look around the hangar-like lab. He noticed a few imperfections in the distance on both sides and it wasn't until his second appraisal that he realized they were also likely help desks like the one Eury was sitting at.
"Theoretically, every year," Eury shrugged. "Years like that don't matter on the multiversal scale, 2020 on one Earth is 1893 on another. SST only coordinates days and leaves the details to individuals.
"Is there a way to get back to my own Earth?" He assumed he could with his invention; but, he still wanted her answer. Greg felt like he trusted her; but he wasn't going to give it blindly.
"Lots of ways," Eury nodded and she stepped closer to offer him a transparent glass card. "This is a node, it'll get you started. If you want, you can get on your chair and go back home now to study it, or I can give you an appointment with Mundo right now to get you the full explanation." He looked at the card and realized it had the time on it, 16:38. He flipped it over to look through the glass and the numbers changed orientation to remain right side up.
"Ohhhh I think I want the full explanation as soon as possible...," he chuckled. There was no doubt about it. The technology he held was beyond the bleeding edge of his world.
"Great! Quick question to put you with an appropriate Mundo; what's your favorite number?"
"What?" It was one step too ridiculous for his mind to handle all at once. There was already so much he was trying to keep calm about. He burst out laughing. "Is that really important??"
"Only if you answer it," Eury shrugged with a smile. "But, it's no problem, I know who to put you with," she made a gesture at the air and a tall black portal opened. "Just step through there and you'll find Mundo waiting."
"Thank you...," Greg nodded. "...so.. does this really happen a lot?" he took a step toward the portal; but, he was still trying to catch up.
"Not a whole lot, I guess," Eury shook her head. "Not everyone that discovers time travel comes through there. But, it happens enough to put interns on it." she grinned.