Oct. prep challenge day 4

For as long as Jon Smith could remember, his parents, Hans and Sarah Smith, pushed him to know all that was knowable, their teachings raising him to genius levels at a very young age. They rewarded his progress by taking him to football and wrestling practice so to vent his frustrations. Jon soon discovered that he had a photographic memory and a fit body that made his studies easier and his recreation more enjoyable.

Despite his intelligence and physical fitness, Jon was still a child with a child’s curiosity. His parents were loving but also secretive. They worked tirelessly every night, keeping the door to their basement ‘hobby room’ locked at all times. He would hear his mother and father working on something, occasionally arguing with each other. Eventually, one of them accidentally left the basement door unlocked. Seeing his chance to take a peek, Jon walked down into the basement.

It was on that fateful day Jon discovered his parents had a plan for him since his birth. There were endless blueprints of every wing of the mansion tacked to every wall. On a large table were stacks upon stacks of blueprints to a strange, complex machine. Upon closer inspection, Jon discovered that the machine was to be built within hidden rooms and hallways of the old mansion. He froze as he saw mom and dad staring at him.

Hans turned to Sarah, annoyed. "You paradoxical, obstinate, irksome, tempestuous, post adolescent nincompoop!

Jon blinked. “Since when do you talk like that, father?”

Now Sarah turned to Hans. “Do you have any idea the number of procedures, processes, and all around red tape you had just now forced into motion!?!"


Jon frowned. “Mother, father; please explain all of this. What purpose do these blueprints have and why do they all appear to be built within our home?”

Hans sighed then turned to Sarah who reluctantly gave a nod before silently urging Jon to sit down. A sense of concern fell over Jon; he knew that when he was urged to sit the coming conversation would be serious.

Sarah took a breath. “You have a gift, son; one we had hoped to grant ourselves. In time, you may see it as a curse.”

Hans nodded. “Neither your mother or I would think differently of you if you decide not to take the responsibility we are about to ask you to take.”

Jon raised a single eyebrow. “Intriguing; exactly what is this responsibility you speak of and how would I see it as a curse?”

Sarah swallowed a lump, nervous. “Your great grandfather and great grandmother discovered an odd deposit of various colored crystals at an archaeology site in the Far East.”

Hans again nodded. “They found that these odd crystals give off several still undetermined forms of radiation that grants those exposed to them longevity.”

Jon nodded back. “That would explain why both grandmother and grandfather don’t look older than twenty years old. Only no one lives forever; it’s a scientific impossibility.”

Sarah smiled. “You are partially correct. While it is true that no one can live forever, a million or even a billion years is not forever.”

Jon’s eyes widened, a wave of realization falling over him. “If this is true, dare I ask how old you two truly are?”

Hans chuckled. “I met your mother on the Mayflower on my seventieth birthday; we were married in the church once it was constructed in Jamestown.”

Sarah wiped a tear from her eye. “He showed me the crystals shortly after and we had adopted several children over the years as we could not bear cursing any offspring with immortality… until just recently.”

Jon turned from Hans to Sarah. “What moved you to have a child?

Hans looked down, sad. “It was a moment of passion. We had just finished the blueprints of a machine that will save the planet from the ignorance of human kind. Neither of us expected your mother to get pregnant with you.”

Sarah pulled Jon into a loving embrace, tears falling. “You are my miracle, son. It tore my heart to see the children we adopted grow up, grow old and pass away. You, however are immortal by normal standards… I am sorry.”

After the initial shock, Hans and Sarah explained their plan to save the Earth by swapping the planet from one time era to the present using devices powered by the odd crystals. The devices would be placed in six remote locations on the planet and activated when the time was right. Only they were uncertain who would be there to turn the keys...