"Jerry Oltion - Salvation" - читать интересную книгу автора (Oltion Jerry)

The two men regarded each other like witnesses to a UFO abduction,
then while the scientist checked his watch, Billy slowly reached out and
grasped the paper. It was his own letterhead. Written on it in his own
angular, precise handwriting were the words, “It works. Give him the money.
You almost named the dog Solomon.”

The hair stood up on the back of his neck. Paper appearing out of
nowhere was a good trick, but it might easily be just that: a trick. Duplicating
his letterhead and his handwriting wouldn’t be all that difficult either.
Knowing the name that Billy had considered but rejected for his German
shepherd fifteen years ago was a different level of feat entirely.

“May I see that?” William asked. Billy handed the paper to him, and
when the scientist read the words scribbled on it, his mouth bent upward in
a grin that his face clearly wasn’t accustomed to hosting. “Well, I’ll be
damned,” he said softly.

“Yes, probably so,” said Billy. “And so may I. But it seems we may
find ourselves doing business after all.”

****

The board of regents wouldn’t be swayed, so Billy split his ministry
away from the others and funded the project on his own. He became a
regular visitor to William’s lab, at first to watch where his money was being
spent, then later out of genuine interest in the science behind it. If William
was deluded, his was one of the most self-consistent delusions Billy had
ever seen. And as his equipment slowly grew in sophistication, his theory
became closer and closer to practice, until the day when William’s
wristwatch appeared in the transmission chamber that he had just that
morning declared ready for a test.

“One of the things I love about time travel,” William said, picking the
watch off the chamber’s wire mesh floor, “is the instant gratification.” He
compared the watch with the one he wore on his wrist. They looked
identical except for the time. The new one read an hour and ten minutes
fast.

“No pressure,” Billy said, chuckling softly.

William laughed with him. “Right. Let’s get this show on the road.”

It actually took less than an hour to set up the jump. They still had
fifteen minutes left before William’s original watch would read the correct
time, and they were having a hard time waiting. William said, “I’m tempted
to do it now and see what happens. Will the universe let us create a
paradox?”

“Why don’t we see?” asked Billy.