Reverse Thyme Dilation

Macy couldn't be more happy. She finally graduated law school and her husband, Jordan, has been perfecting the art of cookery for some time now. He was a chef back in his service industry days. He cooked for many kitchens and served at a few restaurants. Now he works an office job for a city government that he loves, but he never gave up his love for cooking.

Today, he is cooking her favorite, beef n veggie soup, dinner rolls, and served with a side of sauteed garlic spinach and mushrooms. The spinach is fresh from the local market and the seasonings are brand new, shipped from an old fashioned Louisiana company. The company's slogan is:

"Best Cajun Kitchen. Time and Time again!"

The various seasonings came with cayenne pepper, garlic salt, rosemary, thyme, etc.

Jordan wants this to be the perfect meal so he prepared it special this time with much precision.

"It's all about the timing." He says as he puts the homemade dinner rolls into the oven after basting them in garlic butter.

His nephew asks, "What if it's off by a minute or-"

"Time is sensitive. You need to be extra careful." Jordan immediately rebuttals.

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Macy's family is around, enjoying their time with her as they haven't seen her in years.

"It's about time you graduated." Macy's stern father tells her. Her father is an engineer and graduated college and started a family when he was in his early twenties, he wants grandchildren and thought she would rush into it like her parents did.

"David, that's enough of that." Responds her mother, a free spirited woman who believes her kids should do whatever they need to enjoy their lives. "She can take as much time as she wants. You're still young, Macy. Your father is just giving you a hard time."

Everything is going swell. The food is delicious and there's plenty to go around. Macy is sitting at the end of the table where her father proudly told her to sit and she's enjoying the company of her beloved nephew who can't seem to sit still and keeps rocking back in his chair (it is in fact not a rocking chair). Around them are big celebratory balloons that say, "Congratulations!" on them and a big heartwarming sign that glows, "You did it, Macy!"

"Stop rocking, you're gonna fall and bust your head this time." Audrey tells her son, while he seems to barely listen.

"...and so you see, electricity and plasma are not the same, but are a very similar in concept. Plasma itself consists of ionic charged particles as electricity is referring to actual process of the flow of charged particles." Kendrick explains to Jordan and David. "And actually, I definitely don't think you should do this, but if you were to microwave a flame it would turn into plasma. It would be very unstable and, of course, would be a really bad time."

"Ok! It's time for a toast!" Macy's mother says to the table as everyone begins to quiet down.

"Dad, what are these balloons made of?" The little sport asks with unwarranted curiosity.

"It's a material called Mylar, but shh, maw-maw is talking." Kendrick abruptly tells his son.

"Mylar..." The kid says as he grips one of the balloons and accidentally kicks back too hard and begins to fall.

As he is falling he quickly grabs for the closest thing, Macy. While this is happening he braces himself for impact as he falls on the cord of the neon sign and the balloon pops and that combined with the sign creates an eruption as Macy bites into a dinner roll basted with thyme infused garlic butter.

Things get crazy for Macy and her nephew, they experience a moment of explosive, disorienting energy whooshing around in a thundering manner. While this happens they can both see each other, but their environment is rapidly changing. At one stop they are in a cafe just outside of the Eiffel Tower, at the next stop they can see a festival where everyone is wearing bell bottom jeans and tie-dye shirts and lots of people are wearing aviator sunglasses as well, the next stop is a big canal filled with military personnel and tanks. They can hear jets violently swooping through the skies as there seem to be angry people with banners along the riversides. Then, their final destination, a house in the Cambridge (Massachusetts) area where a couple seems to have been enjoying their evening on their porch.

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"Where are we?" Macy's nephew asks as she stands there puzzled with her plate of rolls still in her hands.

"I have no idea." She answers.

"What happened?! Where's my mom?" He asks in a panic.

"I- I'm not sure, but I think they're alright." She hesitantly answers in complete shock and confusion. He begins to cry and she reminds him, "Shh, it's OK. Your aunt Macy is here and we're gonna figure this out."

"I want my dad. He would know what to do." The little sport says.

"I know, it's OK. I'm gonna figure this out. You need to trust me." Macy says in a comforting voice, yet still worried without showing it.

For the time being, they need to figure out where they are and who's around that could help. Maybe the couple sitting before them that is startled and astonished could be a start.

"Um, hello, my name is Macy and this is my nephew and I'm going to be honest I am just as confused as you are." Says Macy.

"What an odd performance that was." Says the woman sitting on the porch.

"I've never seen something like it before, though, it was peculiar." States the man sitting beside the woman on the porch.

"Please, I need help. Could you help us? We are very lost." Macy rebuttals.

"I think she's serious, Harold." Says the porch woman to her husband.

"What entices you to ask us for help? We are but an unblemished couple enjoying a peasant evening on the porch." Says the man.

"Please sir, this is going to sound crazy, but my nephew and I are from the future. By the way you're dressed, I would assume it is the fifties." Macy says.

"It's quite like that." States the man. "1955, in fact, madam."

"Aunt Macy.." The tired little boy says confusingly.

"Listen, I'm not sure how it happened, but while I was biting into one of these rolls, my nephew and I warped back in time. Please, you have to help us, we belong in the year 2028." Macy pleas with the couple.

"You're saying you bit into the bread roll and that sent you astray?"

"I believe so. Yes ma'am."

"Aunt Macy.."

"Listen, this is a long shot, but do you know any physicists by chance?"

"In fact I do, Madam. I happen to be an English professor at Boston College."

A moment of relief bestows Macy, but she's not entirely sure why. A physicist from the year 2028 wouldn't even know what to do, much less one from the 50s.

"Aunt Macy-"

"Yeah, buddy, what's wrong?" Macy finally acknowledges him.

"I'm tired.." He says, rubbing his eyes.

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As they travel the town they see a lot of things that seem the same as in their time. "It's not that far behind in time, I suppose." Macy thinks to herself.

When she looks out the window she can see some business buildings, a couple restaurants, diners if you will, a fire department, some trees, some statues here and there, lots of history here in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While looking at the various historical landmarks, red brick buildings, and iron street poles, she notices a strange vehicle, definitely out of the ordinary and not of this time. "What in the world?" She says to herself quietly.

"Is something the matter, madam?" The man driving, wearing a putter's hat inquires.

"Oh, no. Nothing's the matter. It's just a bit of cultural shock." She rebuttals.

"Cultural shock?" Her nephew asks.

"It basically means you're experiencing a foreign culture in a way that really throws you off, I'm surprised that's become a term that is actually used, though." The gentleman says. "It is a very academically based term and I haven't heard many use it."

Macy thinks for a second and says, "So you know what 'culture shock' means? I haven't even considered-"

"Yes madam, it's a term I have read about here and there. I believe the anthropologists coined it. Not sure who it was."

Everyone just stares out their windows after that explanation. Macy doesn't really know if that is the proper way to describe how she feels. She's really anxious over anything.

They get to the house and it's nothing special. It's a quiet neighborhood and the houses are very plain (at least for Macy's taste). They go inside and there's a small living room with some lounging furniture with nice, heavy-looking wood. The gentleman introduces them and the older physicist seems very interested in what they've told him. She said she wants to speak with him privately and he brings her to his office. The gentleman and her nephew sit in the living room discussing writing and literary values (probably not simplistic enough for a kid to understand, but that's how it is). As she speaks to him about their dilemma she pulls out her Smartwatch as proof that she's from the future. Ofcourse, it has no service, but it still navigates through its features the same and this is well over enough evidence.

"Ok, so I want you to run by me everything that you came in contact with when you were experiencing reverse-time dilation." The older man says, as if this was a term they were just casually throwing around.

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After a long discussion and speculations made by the physicist, he decides that there is just no way for them to even try to send Macy and her nephew back. "The catalyst for your time travel phenomena seems to lie in those dinner rolls your husband cooked. That combined with the Mylar becoming electrically charged could have created the perfect storm for such an event. But Mylar is still in its experimental phase and we are extremely uncertain about its electron behaviors. Somehow, these things must be related. Unfortunately, we just do not have the resources to run sufficient tests. " He concludes in a bleak manner.

Macy is very upset and doesn't want to explain this to her nephew because it would ruin him. Come to think of it, this has actually kind of ruined their lives. There is no official way for her to prove that she graduated law school and that's just with a JD. She could try for the BAR and have a Rite of Passage, but it will be tricky for her as she is familiar with the laws that have been established and re-established 70 years into the future. She's going to have to study and consider these steps back. Also, it could be a problem for her being that she is a woman in the 1950s and her husband isn't around.

As they are leaving the house, she thinks about how she will have to break the news to her nephew...

Then something strange happens. The odd vehicle form earlier pulls up. Someone steps out of it dressed in a strange grey, padded uniform with shades and a buzz cut. The man who steps out of the vehicle is obviously here for her and it makes her feel strange and even more out of place than before. The man approaches them and says, "You're Macy Brenner, right?"

She nods and pulls her nephew behind her. The two men that have been assisting her also approach and stand beside her in a cautious manner.

"Who is this man?" The gentleman asks.

"I have no idea." Macy responds. Then the man pulls out an ID that glows with an insignia that looks almost similar to the UN Olive Branch symbol.

"The name is Proctor Caper Marshall. You have made a revolutionary discovery and need immediate help." Says the odd man.

"Who is this guy? And why is he dressed like a bloke?" States the physicist.

"How did you know where to find me? Are you certain you can help me?" Macy hesitantly asks.

"This is my job, ma'am. Your TI signatures alerted us." He says, ignoring the others.

"T-I?"

"Your 'time interface signatures' it's a way we identify when someone is travelling through time." He immediately answers. "Come with us, we'll explain everything and take you back to your gathering. Unfortunately, you will have to explain everything to your family. Your sister's husband cannot know who we are for confidentiality reasons that will become evident later in his life."

The men are quick to judge, "Who the hell are you?! And where do you think you're going with this helpless young lady?" The physicist says.

"Please don't interfere, Dr. Rogers. Your contributions have been extremely helpful for the time and you cannot speak of this to anyone. Your assertions are true no matter how silly you think it might be." The strange man says.

"You mean.. The ones about the Mylar?.." Asks the nerdish 1950s physics man who seems even more confused than Macy at this point.

"And the ionization properties involved in their cross-exchanges with the dinner rolls. Yes." The strange man adds. "We must go now."

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As Macy and her nephew prepare for their return they think about their journey. It's crazy to think that they've only been in the 1950s for an evening. It feels like they've been there for like seventy years.

As they return to the English professor's house in Cambridge, the oddly dressed man urges they grab the plate of rolls, "They are essential for our travels."

As they pile into the vehicle once more he warns them: "Even with the safety glasses you're wearing you can still damage your eyes. Don't look at the counter-exchange reaction. It's a miracle your eyes survived your first trip into the past."

They strap in and feel the anticipation. What's he going to do? They wonder as he grabs one of the rolls, looks at them and eats one, then grabs another one and tosses it into the Mylar chamber as it combusts violently and closes itself off a second later. The oddly dressed man says, "You both may want to hang on," as he willfully chews the roll and the vehicle begins to shake. Outside the environment begins to wind. Macy tries to talk, but nothing is heard. The moment is intense, nobody could hear the other talk even if they screamed, which is what her nephew was doing the whole time.

They warp into a yard of grassy pleasantness with birds chirping and a beautiful sunset. It is only the afternoon of the day they left. "Now you are safe. Don't worry about the things you saw and heard. It's all behind you now. Tell your husband that these rolls are fantastic and that he is wise to know how importantly sensitive thyme is..." Macy and her nephew look at one another and shrug as he eats another roll and pulls back the analog device he was using to operate the vehicle. "Have a good life and congratulations, Macy." And he warps off, never to be seen again. What a strange fellow. Macy and her nephew go inside and everyone is astonished and concerned. "What happened?!" Her mother urges.

"Mom, it was weird. We just went back in time and we saw so much." "What the hell happened? Where did y'all go?" Her dad says.

"Well I think we were in France for a moment, then we were at the Suez Canal? Then we ended up in Massachusetts." She excitingly says.

"What?!?" Kendrick loudly exclaims. "How did you get back?! How did you not de-materialize? If you're time traveling, you're teleporting as well. The Earth is a giant flying rock! The universe takes serious precision to maneuver through."

"We just got lucky I guess... Some guy dressed in all grey brought us back. He gave us these cool sunglasses, he said they protect us from some exchange reaction?" She says in a puzzled manner. "Let me see those." He quickly rips them from her hands as she is being aggressively hugged by all of her family members.

"Where the hell is this guy? Is he the one that brought you to the past? Who does he think he is?" Her dad projects while pacing impatiently and getting furious by the second.

"Dad, it's ok. He's gone now. I don't know who he is, but he said Kendrick is important. Something about his research..."

"My research?! I haven't even begun yet... Although.." He stares at the dark glasses intently, "I have an idea where to start now."

"He also said something about your dinner rolls, babe." Macy says to her husband, Jordan, who has been worried sick.

"What about them? Did he think they were gross?"

"No, no, no. He said they're important for some reason. Something involving the reactions between the Mylar in the balloons and the thyme on the rolls?.. I think?"

"The rolls?" They all ponder.

"The rolls? You had dinner rolls with you? When did you have time to bring those?" Her dad asks.

"Well, I was holding the plate when we went back in time." She answers.

"You were holding it? Where's the plate?" He asks impatiently.

"I'm actually not sure. I guess the guy still has it-"

"What!" He cuts her off, "He has your plate? You know how much I spent on that dinnerware set!?"

"David, come on now." Her mother says as she tries to console him.

"Well, what's important is you're both with us again. Let's be sure something like this never happens again." Jordan utters.

"Let's avoid the Mylar balloons. We can start with that." Macy concludes.