The God Machine

The Beginning

Tim Potts, a 32 year old, balding, male, who wore thick glasses had been a tinkerer all of his life. He started tinkering in his second year of high school where he almost blew up the physics lab while experimenting with electronic circuits. He had been fascinated with the Star Trek program on television and wanted to make those magnificent devices he saw a reality. Other students in his class thought he was a bit crazy and would ridicule him. He swore that he would show them some day that devices like the holodeck and the transporter could actually be produced.

His love life had been dismal at best, as most women he met could not get past his interest in tinkering with electronics. He did have one woman that he would see occasionally named Doris who was also a Star Trek fan, had freckles, and also wore thick glasses. They would sometimes attend a Star Trek convention together dressed as Romulans.

It was Friday and he would now be free to work on his latest project in the basement of his house, he had aquired when has mother had passed away several years ago.

He had been working on a device that could make use of energy released from the human brain to create different realities. He had put together some circuit boards, where he had soldered various diodes, IC chips, capacitors, coils, and resistors and had placed all of this in a plastic casing and added a panel with dials and windows, where he could monitor power levels. He also had rigged up a helmet with various electronic components that would allow the wearer to recieve signals which were being transmitted from the device, which he called the Central Processing Unit and he had also created a control device that could be worn on his wrist.

He had been working on this project for 5 years now, using components that he had acquired from a Radio Stack store, where he worked as the manager. His attempts to make the device work had been unsuccessful with various components burning out and he was beginning to wonder if he would ever get the device to work.

It was on this Friday that something extraordinary would happen. It was now 10 pm and he was feeling weary from the day's activities. Tim put on the helmet, the wrist control unit, and slid a circuit boad out of the casing in order to check out a circuit. He then turned the device on and was monitoring the power level, when he noticed that his wrist watch had stopped working. Tim pried off the back of his watch and he watched as a crystal fell out and landed on a circuit board that was sticking out.

Tim was starting to feel hunger pangs and his stomach rumbled as he had not eaten anything for over 12 hours. He began thinking about having a shrimp dinner at a local restaurant called "BoBos'.

Just as the crystal fell onto the circuit board, he noticed a blue haze around him, and found himself sitting at the counter of Bobos restaurant, with a shrimp dinner in front of him. Tim was wide eyed with shock and so was the waitress named Martha, who had just seen a man, wearing a helmet, thick glasses, suddenly appear at the counter with a shrimp dinner.

No one said anything for a few minutes, as they both tried to think of how this could have happened. Martha, completely puzzled over this event, tried to think of a reason for this. She must have waited on this man and had somehow forgotten to take the order. She concluded that this was exactly what had happened and went about filling out an order slip for the shrimp dinner for the man. That could be the only explanation, even though this strange man was wearing a helmet with electronic components wired to the side. She would not even try to guess an explanation for this. She decided to ignore the helmet.

Tim looked in astonishment at the dinner and then at the restaurant around him. He slowly realized what had occurred. It was the crystal landing on the circuit board that had somehow caused the Processor to work. In front of him, Tim noticed a big beefy waitress glaring at him and filling out an order slip.

Still feeling hungry, he ate the shrimp dinner, left a tip, and paid for the dinner at the cash register. The waitress, who took his payment, continued giving Tim some very strange looks. Tim then walked to his home, only a couple of blocks away.

To be a Superman

When Tim arrived back at his home, he had started wondering about the capabilities of his device. "Could he fly like the character he saw in the comics?" he wondered. He made sure the device was on and began to imagine that he was the super character that he had seen in the comics.

The device did not respond. "What happened?" he thought to himself and tried the device again. Suddenly, he saw sparks coming from one of the resistors on the a circuit board. He quickly got another resistor of a higher power rating and installed it on the board.

He finally gave the device another try but nothing appeared to happen, but he did feel more energetic than before, as if he had suddenly gained more energy. Tim then proceeded out to his back yard, where he extended his arms out in front of him, while making a jump, and tried to fly.

Suddenly, he was shooting through the air and nearly hit a telephone pole that was nearby. "How do I control my flight?" he wondered, as he approached an office building. Seconds later, he bounced off the side of the brick office building, where he left a large crack, and fell to the sidewalk below.

Tim noticed that there was some smoke coming from the helmet that he was wearing as he got to his feet. Nearby, there was an old man with a liquor bottle in his hand and he was staring at Tim in wide-eyed wonder. The man threw away his bottle and ran away.

He now noticed that his helmet had been damaged somehow and returned to the basement of his home to make needed repairs.

On arrival at his workshop, Tim completed repairs on the helmet, and by use of his imagination and the device, programmed the device to beam him back to the basement, should there be serious damage or failure of any of his equipment.

Tim learns how to fly

It was the next day, when he decided to give himself another try at flight. To avoid any unnecessary attention, he drove out to the large farm of a friend, which contained a large grassy field, with few trees. His friend was away at the time and Tim thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to learn how to fly.

Tim turned on the device and imagined himself as the super-hero that he had seen in the comics. He immediately felt energy fill his body. This time, Tim decided that he would try to control his flight by simply concentrating on what he wanted to do while in flight.

He extended his arms and concentrated on slowly floating upward towards the clouds above. Immediately, Tim found that he was floating upward and he allowed himself to move close to a nearby cloud. On looking down, he could see the beautiful view of the grassy field and the farm below. He felt himself shout "hallelujah", as he felt exhilarated.

From this time on, he concentrated on making turns and stopping in mid-air. Finally, he decided to try moving at a much faster speed and imagined himself moving at the speed of a jet aircraft.

There was a problem, as the faster he traveled, he noticed that the clothes he was wearing, was starting to become tattered, and fall away. By using his imagination, he was able to mentally create an indestructible suit with a cape that had a big "S".

It wasn't long before Tim was soaring through the clouds at fantastic speeds and enjoying every minute of it. He could hear the sound of the wind as he moved through the air and the view was fantastic.

How to handle a bad guy

Within hours, after he had returned to his home, Tim began thinking of ways that he could use the device to help others. After all, he was basically a good guy at heart and so was his super-hero.

He decided to do the same as the super-hero in the comics and go after some bad guys. He would fly over a rough area of the city and try to help some victims under attack.

Tim stepped out into his back yard, extended his arms, and shot off towards town. Mildred, his next door neighbor, was in her back yard hanging out the clothes, when she noticed a man dressed in a funny looking outfit with a cape, suddenly shoot out to the sky. Mildred decided not to say anything to her husband Bruce, as he would think that she was on the sauce again.

It wasn't long before Tim was over the roughest region of the city of New York. He brought himself to a stop in mid-air, and concentrated his vision and hearing to detect any problems below. At this time, no one below noticed Tim, as he hovered in the air.

At this point, he realized that he was not wearing his glasses. They must have fallen off long ago. "After all, why would a super-hero need glasses.", he thought. Lucky for him, there was a spare set of glasses he could use if he should have to assume his other identity as Tim.

Within minutes, Tim detected a problem in an alley. He could hear a man's voice say, "Please don't hurt me again!. I have nothing to give you.". He then heard another nasty sounding voice saying "You had better have something for me old man if you know what is good for you."

Tim concentrated his vision to the area of the sound and noticed an old fellow, wearing some old clothes in a nearby alley. In front of him, was a big, beefy, looking guy of about 20 years of age, wearing tee shirt and jeans. The big guy had the front of the old guy's shirt in his hand and his other arm out-stretched as if to punch the old guy.

Tim decided to act and landed himself just behind the big guy. Tim told the man, "You had better stop what your doing. I cannot allow this.".

Tony, the big, beefy guy, had been shaking down victims in this neighborhood ever since he had dropped out of school as a teenager. He would usually find drugs, money, or some item that had been stolen that he could take. He had known old Ed for at least 2 years now, and knew that he was a heroin user. He had seen Ed, a few hours earlier, buy some dope from one of the dealers. He was just about to make a score off this old man, when he heard the voice behind him, telling him to stop.

Tony let go of Ed's shirt and turned around to see a funny little man, wearing a helmet, tights with a big "S" on the chest, and a cape, staring at him with a stern look. The sight of this made Tony laugh. "Is this a joke?" he said.

Ed had noticed Tim as he landed behind Tony, and was wide-eyed with amazement. He thought that this strange man must be some kind of guardian angel. As soon as Tony had let go and turned around, Ed had run down the alley, and onto the street.

Tim watched as Tony turned around and laughed, while the old guy ran off down the alley.

Tony pulled out a pocket knife, extended the blade, snickered, and said, "You are in it deep now. I am going to make a blood stain on your pretty outfit.".

Tim moved with such speed that he caught Tony by surprise and gave him a gentle push which knocked him back 20 feet. Tony, with a shocked look on his face, got up, dropped the knife, and fled down the alley. He had never encountered anything like this before.

By now, a group of people had started to form at the entrance to the alley, and a police car with flashing red light was just pulling up.

"What are you?" a balding man asked, as Tim made the decision to leave. "I am just your friendly super-hero." Tim replied to the man. With that, Tim extended his arms and shot out of the alley, into the sky.

The crowd of people and police looked on in amazement as Tim flew away and returned home.

Now that Tim had a taste of crime-fighting, he was anxious to find other ways to use this device. What about space? What would it be like to soar through space and make new discoveries? He decided to make a trip to the moon, but he wondered about the effects that the conditions of space would have on his device.

He could conjure up a starship with a conjured crew by using his imagination. The starship would offer Tim protection from any cosmic rays and provide a comfortable place to dwell, and he would have the crew's company with Tim as it's captain.

To Explore Space

On arrival at his home, Tim decided that he could no longer fulfill the requirements of his job as manager of the Radio Stack store, and made arrangments to terminate his employment. He wanted to explore various options with the device.

One week later, Tim had left his job, and made arrangements with a friend to watch his home while he was away. He was now ready to create his very own starship.

Tim put on his equipment and used his imagination to create the proper uniform for a starship captain. This uniform resembled the same uniform worn by the character called, Captain Picard. He looked at himself in a mirror and was quite impressed. Then, using his imagination, he created a starship that resembled the Starship Enterprise, and placed it in orbit, high above the Earth. He then placed the crew, which resembled the crew on the fictional Enterprise, on his created starship. He was now ready to board his ship!

Tim used his communicator to order the crew to beam him up to the ship, which he named "The Adventurer". He also had all the equipment, including the Processor, also beamed up, and placed in the Captain's quarters.

Within seconds, Tim was materializing in the transporter room of the Starship Adventurer. An android that looked a lot like "Data", was there to meet him.

The android looked over at Tim, smiled and said, "Welcome Captain. Would you like to go to the Bridge?". Tim decided that this android's name would be Maytron.

"Yes Maytron, I would." replied Tim, and they proceeded out of the transporter room to the bridge. "What is the present situation?" Tim asked Maytron.

"Everything is in order Captain." replied Maytron.

The door to the elevator opened and Tim walked out on the bridge. Before him, was the bridge in all it's glory. At their various stations, was the crew that he had imagined. Tim proceeded to the captain's chair and had a seat, where he observed small control panels near his armrests, and had no idea what their function was. He decided to rely on verbal commands to his crew.

"Take her out and set a course to the moon, and when we arrive, place the ship in orbit." commanded Tim.

"Yes Sir." replied Maytron, who had taken the position as Navigator. "What speed sir?" Maytron asked.

"One half impulse." Tim replied.

Tim watched the view screen as the ship approached the moon. The ship was in orbit within minutes.

Commander Piker, the number 2 man, looked over at Tim and inquired, "What is next Captain?".

Suddenly, communications officer Menos looked over and announced, "Captain, we have company. Unidentified objects approaching from the port side.".

"On screen." Commanded Tim. On the screen, appeared 2 metallic, saucer shaped objects that moved to the port side of the ship.

We Are Not Alone

Suddenly, 2 alien beings appeared on the bridge who looked just like the aliens that were described by those who had close encounters Tim had read about. They were between 4 and 5 feet tall, with large bald heads, large slanted eyes, with small nose, mouth, and were wearing silvery suits.

Tim noticed that the crew on the bridge had been frozen in position and could feel the alien beings probing into his mind. He could sense them as they communicated by telepathy.

"How did you get such a device that we have detected on this craft?" inquired one of the beings, "Mankind should not have such technology."

"I invented it in my workshop on Earth." replied Tim, who was now becoming worried that these beings may take away his devices. Tim suddenly remembered the "Q" character, with unlimited powers, that had been in various episodes of Star Trek. He immediately changed himself into this "Q" character, snapped his finger and wished the beings back to their home planet.

Cin 1, the leader of the beings, had launched the 2 craft in response to this stange intrusion of this region by a craft with imitation humans, except for the human entity called Tim. This craft was hundreds of years more advanced than any craft that humans on Earth had developed before. The ship had been probed and a strange device had been detected that was unknown to Cin 1 and his kind.

Suddenly, there was a flash and Cin 1, his crew and craft were transported over a hundred light years away, from which they had come in the past.

Tim was surprised to find that he had been able to pull this off, as the alien beings vanished off the bridge. He also noticed that he now had the unlimited power of a "Q", and would no longer need the device to fulfill his wishes. Tim, who was now tiring of the helmet, took it off and tossed it aside.

What About Doris?

As soon as the aliens were gone, Tim noticed that the crew had come back to life. Tim changed himself back into the ship's Captain and took command. He began to think about Doris and how she would like to be on this ship, as she was very fond of Star Trek.

Tim turned to Commander Piker and said, "Number one, You have the bridge. Take the ship and return to orbit around the Earth. I will be in my quarters should anyone need me.".

"Yes Captain" replied Commander Piker, and took the Captain's seat, as Tim proceeded to his quarters. The ship was soon underway back to Earth orbit. On reaching his quarters, Tim had the food replicator produce a sauage and cheese pizza and a cold beer. He consumed his meal while watching the ship approach Earth and take up an orbit around Earth.

Tim decided to pay Doris a visit at her apartment in New York. It was now 7 pm there and he knew that she would be in her easy chair, watching a re-run of a Star Trek show.

Using his "Q" power, Tim snapped his finger and was transported to Doris's apartment in New York.

Tim was right. Doris had returned to her apartment after a hard days work at the pet shop, where she worked as manager. She had fixed a TV dinner, some iced tea, turned the television on to watch Star Trek, and plopped down on her easy chair.

Doris had not seen Tim for 2 weeks now and she had began to wonder when she would see him again. She looked forward to his company, even though he seemed obsessed about that project he was working on.

Suddenly, Doris saw a flash in the middle of her living room, and Tim appeared, wearing the uniform of s starship Captain. She could'nt believe her eyes! How could this be?

Tim looked upon the freckled face girl with the thick glasses that he had grown fond of and said, "Hello Doris. I have a surprise for you.".

"How are you doing this? How can this be?" asked the startled Doris, who stared at Tim.

"Remember that device I was working on in my basement?" asked Tim.

"Yes I remember that you spent countless hours on it. What kind of device is it?" asked Doris, who was still amazed.

"It is a device that takes thoughts and makes them real. I can make any wish come true." explained Tim, "How about making a trip with me?"

"I don't know. Are you sure it is safe?" asked Doris, "I really am not dressed for a trip right now."

"That is nothing to worry about." replied Tim, and he snapped his finger.

Suddenly, there was a flash around Doris and she found herself wearing a Star Fleet uniform like those on the Enterprise. Doris was stunned and could hardly believe this was happening.

"Are you ready?" asked Tim, "I really want to show you a good time as this is a special occasion for us."

"I, I guess so." said Doris.

"Hold my hand." Tim asked, and grabbed her hand, which she held onto.

Tim snapped his other finger and suddenly they were flying over New York city. Tim guided the both of them over the city of many lights and under the stars. He guided them over the Statue of Liberty and other prominent landmarks and then through the clouds.

Doris said, "Wow!! This is truly amazing! You have really come through.".

"Doris, I have always cared for you, ever since our first time at the Star Trek convention. Will you be my wife?", asked Tim

Holy Matrimony

Doris, who now had tears streaming down her face, hesitated a few seconds, smiled and said, "Yes. Who else, you big lug."

Tim smiled at Doris, squeezed her hand, and said "Then lets get this wedding underway!"

Tim snapped his finger and they were suddenly on the starship Adventurer in the recreation room called "10-Forward". Captain Bagard was there with other chief crew members for the wedding.

Tim then mentally created a gold ring for him and a beautiful diamond ring for Doris, which appearred in his outstretched hand. He turned to Lt. Commander Maytron, the android and gave him the rings.

"Maytron, I want you to be my best man", requested Tim with a smile.

"It will be a pleasure sir" replied Lt. Commander maytron as he took the rings.

Doris looked at him and said "He could'nt be a better choice as this android was always interested in human behavior.

Within minutes, Captian Bagard, who had the duty of performing the marriage, asked that everyone take their places. Tim took Doris's hand and they both took their position in front of Captain Bagard.

Doris was stunned and thrilled at seeing the crew members that she had seen on the show. She never believed that this could be possible. Here she was on a starship getting married to her man.

Tim and Doris made their vows to love and cherish each other. Doris, given the golden ring by Maytron, smiled and slipped the ring onto Tim's finger. Maytron then passed the diamond ring to Tim, who slipped the ring onto Doris's finger.

"I now pronounce you both man and wife. May you both have a wonderful and happy life together." said Captain Bagard, "Tim, you may kiss the bride.".

Doris, who was overcome with emotion, had tears in her eyes as she embraced Tim as they kissed. In the background, could be heard traditional wedding music.

The crew then showered both of them with confetti as Tim and Doris proceeded to their quarters that had been set up for them. On arrival at the entrance, Tim picked up Doris and carried her over the threshhold.

Tim and Doris begin a new life together

It was the next morning and Tim was just waking up after spending a night of passion and love with Doris. Both had thoroughly enjoyed the night with each other. From across the room, he heard Doris, who was in the process of replicating breakfast. She had on a robe that had been provided for them. Tim was starting to get hungry when he smelled the bacon that had been produced.

"How do you like you eggs Snuggles?" asked Doris, who looked over at Tim and smiled.

"Sunny side up." he replied. Tim's face turned red for a few seconds when Doris called him "Snuggles", and Doris laughed. "Pardon me while I jump into the sonic shower for a few minutes." said Tim as he got up out of bed and quickly walked into the bathroom and cleaned up.

Minutes later, Tim was in his robe and sitting at the table near a large window where he could see the Earth below, as the ship was still in orbit. It was a magnificent sight.

Finally, breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, jelly, and orange juice was ready and they both had a seat and dined.

Finally, Doris spoke "How are we to proceed? I do not believe that you should openly use your powers as it may attract unwanted attention. I think that they should be used cautiously as any mistake could cause a disaster. I would like to continue my work with the animals in the pet shop if that is all right with you."

Tim smiled and thought over what Doris had just said. She was right about the powers. He remembered the incident with the aliens. What if the aliens returned? How would they respond to him sending their ships and crew half way across the galaxy? He wondered what they would do next. He agreed with her decision to continue working at the pet shop as she loved working with animals.

"I agree with you about the use of the powers and continuing your work with the animals." replied Tim, who smiled.

"Oh Tim! I am glad you agree! I was worried that you may want me to leave my job." said a relieved Doris.

"How would you like to move into my house? We could always change to a better place later." asked Tim.

"I would love to. I am looking forward to our time together." replied Doris who smiled at Tim.

For the rest of the morning, Doris and Tim toured the ship and spent time with it's crew. Tim asked the Klingon type crewman named Gorf to be watchful and inform him immediately if they return.

Tim decided to return to work at the Radio Stack store. He had used his "Q" mental abilities to get his job back as manager, and had already made the starship vanish, as he did not think it would be a good idea to leave it in orbit. He could always re-create it later if he desired.

One week later, Tim helped Doris move her belongings to the house. He had been looking forward to her living with him. She then went about cleaning the house, which was needed.


The Aliens Return

It was six months later that Tim was visited by the aliens. Doris had gone to bed and Tim was in the basement tinkering with a new device that he had created, when there was a flash and 2 aliens that he had seen before appeared.

Tim started feeling dazed and dizzy. He had a hard time standing and had to sit down on a nearby chair. He could feel them in his mind.

One alien mentally communicated "Remember me, I am Cin-1. Even though you have terminated the ship, you need to be taught a lesson. A special place has been prepared for you.

Tim who was still dazed, could not move or speak. Suddenly, there was a flash and Tim found himself on a rocky world, 50 light years away. The temperature was high there and Tim was extremely uncomfortable. His skin was also burning from some unknown gas. Tim looked around for water, but only could see rocky surfaces and an orange atmosphere with a few orange clouds. The pain seemed to increase as time went by until it was unbearable. Tim tried to use his "Q" power to get back to Earth but it did not work. "Help me!" Tim cried out.

Suddenly, Tim heard a voice in his mind, "See how it feels to be transported without being asked about it first." He recognized the thoughts that were from the alien, Cin-1

"Get me out of here and I will behave!" Tim cried out.

Suddenly, Tim was back in his home and was still sitting on his chair in the basement. The aliens were gone. He had been sweating so much that he had to go up and take a shower. Tim realized that he had not been transported to another planet as he thought. It had all been an illusion created in his mind by the aliens. They obviously have the ability to create any reality and make it real to their victim. That was why his "Q" power had not worked. He had wished to be on Earth and he was already on Earth. At this time, Tim decided to have nothing more to do with those aliens.

The next evening as Tim started to enter his home after working a 10 hour day, Mildred, the next door neighbor rushed up to Tim from the sidewalk saying, "Did you see the UFO in the sky last night that was over your house?

"No I did'nt. About what time was that?" asked Tim.

"It was about 10:30 in the evening. It was the most amazing thing I have seen, almost." she replied.

Tim realized that the time she gave was about the time that he had his encounter. "Well, I hope it doesn't come back again." said Tim, who laughed and tried to make a joke of it.

Mildred smiled and said, "Me too. My husband doesn't believe me. He thought I had been drinking. Good night Tim.".

"Good night Mildred." replied Tim, who smiled and entered his home.

The Device Vanishes!

Tim went into the living room where he found Doris, who had rhe television on a re-run of Star Trek. She looked over at Tim, smiled, and said, "Hi Tim, I ordered your favorite pizza for dinner. It should be here any minute.

"Hello there sweetie. How is it going? I can hardly wait for the pizza. I am hungry." replied Tim.

Tim walked over to Doris and she got up off the easy chair and put her arms around Tim and they kissed.

"Everything is alright with me. By the way, there are a few household chores that need to be done, but for right now, I think we need a new Vacuum cleaner. It is on the fritz." replied Doris.

"Alright. I will get on it." said Tim.

Suddenly, the door bell rang and Tim walked over to the front door and opened it to find a pizza delivery man. He paid the man, took the pizza which smelled great, and proceeded to the dining room.

Tim and Doris then consumed the pizza and had a nice chat. Tim decided to go to the basement to look for tools to fix the vacuum cleaner. On reaching the basement, Tim decided to check the storage cabinet where the device was stored.

He opened the cabinet door to find the cabinet empty. The device was gone!! He had no schematic or plans to make another one. The first one had been an accident. He realized that the aliens must have taken it when they were here last night. Fortunately, Tim still had the power of the character on Star Trek called "Q", and did not need the device.

To test this out, he wished for a can of beer to appear on his work counter. Suddenly, there was a flash and a can of beer materialized on the counter.

Tim became concerned that the aliens may use the device to do harm or to gain more power. He decided that he must find the device and destroy it, even if it meant confronting the aliens.

What Tim did not know was that the Aliens were unable to get the device to work. The device would not work with their physical bodies and the helmet would not fit the alien head. They eventually gave up and destroyed the device.

Tim thought about how to confront the aliens and decided that he would make himself invisible as he flew over the moon. First of all, he would give himself the superpowers of his superhero, then become invisible. He had suspected that the aliens had a base on the dark side of the moon, so he would look here first.

He had promised to notify Doris first before using his powers. Tim proceeded up to their bedroom where he found Doris sitting in front of the mirror combing her hair. As Tim walked into the room, she looked up an smiled.

"Did you find what you were looking for, Babe?" asked Doris.

"Yes I did. I have a situation where I need to use my powers." said Tim

"What could that be" asked a worried Doris.

"Remember when I had created the starship? asked Tim

"How could I forget. That is where we had our honeymoon, Snuggles." replied Doris and giggled..

Tim blushed and replied, "There was something that happened before you came on board. There was a visit by some aliens. I felt they were a threat and used my powers to send them many light years away. The other night, they paid me a visit again in the basement. They caused me to have hallucinations which terrified me and warned me not to interfere with them again. I later discovered that the device was missing."

"That device had me worried. It is a big responsibility. The slightest mistake can have huge consequences. Maybe it is for the better that the device is gone." said Doris.

"I am worried that the aliens may learn to use the device to harm or control others. I just can't stand by and let this happen. I have to try to get the device back. I forgot to tell you that before the first visit on the starship, I had given myself the powers of the omnipotent "Q" character from the Star Trek show. I no longer need the device." replied Tim.

"Oh my!! I don't know what to say. I do see your point about the aliens having the device. It can't be good that they have it. Alright, I will go along with your plans to retrieve the device, but I want you to destroy it, if you find it. Ok Babe?" asked Doris, who now had become very worried.

"Yes, I had planned to destroy it. Do not worry. I will be very careful, so please do not worry your pretty little head." replied Tim, who smiled at Doris.

"Remember Tim, having those powers are a huge responsiblity. I trust that you will do what is right. You have a good head on your shoulders, Babe. When do you plan to make your move?" asked Doris.

"Tomorrow will be Saturday and I will be off from work. I think that I will make my move tonight. I plan on giving myself superpowers of the super character from the comics and make myself invisible. I suspect that the aliens have a base on the dark side of the moon and I will go there to find the device." explained Tim.

"I really wish that you didn't have to do this, but I suppose it is for the best. Promise me that you will be very careful. I would have a horrible time if something was to happen to you." said a tearful Doris.

"I promise." said Tim and kissed Doris on the forehead, who was looking up at him. "I will now make myself invisible. Let me know what you see.".

Tim snapped his finger and wished to be invisible. There was a flash and he noticed that he could no longer see himself in the mirror. It had worked!

Doris was watching when she noticed Tim suddenly vanish. She was shaken by what she saw. "Are you still there Tim?" asked Doris.

"Yes, I am still here and I am fine." replied Tim and he laughed.

What is meant to be?

"I am going now. I will find the device and be right back. Do not worry." said Tim, as he transported himself to a location just above the moon. He then proceeded to fly above the surface while looking for any indication of the aliens.

Doris heard Tim tell her not to worry, but she still was. Later, she would have difficulty falling to sleep. She could now hear heavy rain falling outside and that made it worse. She began to feel a little depressed.

Suddenly, there was a flash and a large crash of thunder. Doris got out of bed and decided to go to the kitchen. On reaching the kitchen, she noticed a glass on the counter that could be used. Doris picked up the glass, went to the sink to rinse it out, and turned on the faucet.

Suddenly, there was another flash and a very large surge of energy shot through the pipes and into Doris. Doris's body shook a few seconds and she dropped the glass, while falling to the floor.

While flying above the surface of the moon, Tim suddenly had a bad feeling that something terrible had happened. He began to wonder about Doris. Could something have happened to her?

Tim decided to check on Doris and transported himself back to the house. He searched for Doris and came across her lifeless body on the floor of the kitchen.

"No! No! No!" screamed Tim, who fell on to the floor and checked to see if there was any life, but there was none. He felt terrible that he had left her alone.

"I wish that I had never invented that damned machine!" Tim cried out.

Time Goes On

Tim found himself in his basement, late in the evening. He had been working on a device to improve the sound on his stereo without success. Suddenly, the telephone started ringing and he answered it. It was Doris.

"hello Doris. What can I do for you." said Tim, who smiled. He was pleased that she had called. He had been thinking of visiting her at her apartment.

"I was thinking that we could maybe get together for a nightcap at the Tasty Doghnut Shop for coffee if that is alright with you." replied Doris.

"I would love to. I will be at your place to pick you up." said Tim.

"Oh Tim, that would be great. I will see you soon, Snuggles. Good bye" replied Doris.

Tim finished the call and wondered why she had called him Snuggles. He had not noticed that his face had flushed red when she called him that.

End

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