Unsealed Fate

The urgent, piercing blare of an alarm jolted Nathan from uneasy rest. He sat up, checking his spacecraft's computers.

"OXYGEN LEAK DETECTED—IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED."

Nathan scrolled error logs, tracing the leak's source. It appeared to be the airlock seals.

If I temporarily patch over the penetration, it might be enough to preserve oxygen until my SOS is picked up. But quickly, now; if the cabin depressurizes too rapidly it'll collapse.

He radioed a message:

"Mayday, mayday. The Honeybee, four hundred light-years away from Earth headed towards Planet Darius, is experiencing an air leak. Sole occupant Captain Nathan Price is about to attempt a repair. Send assistance quickly. Imminent danger."

He repeated it twice; receiving no response, he put on his spacesuit. He adjusted the helmet with shaking hands. His heart pounded so hard it made his vision wobble.

The suit's CO² filters and oxygen tank would hold out for several hours. But the sickening vision of his fragile spacecraft bursting open loomed, a specter in his mind.

He stepped through the inner airlock door and unpacked his meager tools: a roll of duct tape, a tube of caulk, some waxy plugs and patching solution. Man, I wish I'd brought better supplies.

Nathan held up his hand, waving an oxygen sensor along the seals, looking for signs of seepage. Suddenly, a wheezing, rushing sound filled the chamber. Alarms rang out from his computers back in the engine room.

Nathan opened the exterior airlock door. He anchored his lifeline and cast off from The Honeybee just as it blew apart into a gazillion pieces. The force of the blast sent him flying through space, his lifeline now attached to a mere scrap of rubble.

Panic swelled inside. He curled up into the fetal position, eyes squeezed shut, denying the reality of his situation. The programming in his suit warned him to initiate biofeedback to control his rapid heart rate and erratic breathing.

When he calmed himself enough to open his eyes, the blank vastness of the universe enveloped him. There was nothing to be seen except for bits of what once was his spacecraft drifting aimlessly along.

So much for my solo trip to Darius. That's what comes from working with a shoestring budget. Now what? He sent out another SOS, doubting there was anyone within a few hundred light-years of him to pick it up. All that remained was to float until the oxygen ran out and regret all the things he never got to do, like say a proper farewell to his family.

Not exactly how I intended to go… I wanted them to be proud of me. Nathan's rueful reflections were cut short by a crackling message in his ear,

"Your SOS and location data have been picked up by the Blue Dragon, on its way to refuel at Station Fifteen. Prepare to dock with us."

Nathan let out a wild whoop, which no one could hear. He would have spun in cartwheels, but being weightlessly suspended, that was impossible.

The sleek Chinese spaceship approached, aiming a subduction beam on him, which kept him from drifting further away. Docking was uneventful.

A familiar face greeted Nathan when he burst through the guest airlock. It was Dr. Feng Chen, his physics professor and old friend.

"Nathan, my boy!" He helped him undo his bulky spacesuit. "How in heaven's name did you come so close to death?"

"I wanted to achieve what no one has been able to yet—a solo round trip to Darius from Earth."

The older man shook his head gravely.

"Without proper funding and resources, such a mission is impossible. You are not sponsored by anyone."

"No, nobody thought I could do it. So I scraped together the money and did it anyway."

"That is unwise, as you now know."

Nathan ran a hand through his hair.

"But Prof, I went to Mars and back on a solo flight last year. Remember? It was a huge success."

"Yes. You went viral, briefly."

"So why couldn't I do the same for Planet Darius? It's only a few dozen more light-years. If I'd made it to The Wormhole I'd have been there in no time, literally."

"Success on a smaller scale isn't always an indicator of success on a larger scale… issues will come up which you never even considered."

"You're right. But I can't go back and do it all over again—I've spent every last penny I could on this trip. I'm a failure." Nathan rested his head in his hands.

Chen watched him silently for a few minutes.

"If you insist on making such a foolhardy journey, the first thing you should be aware of is the fluidity of time."

"Huh?"

"You know about The Wormhole which we use as a bypass. You don't realize we can also use it to time travel. I came back to rescue you from the future—one form of the future, that is."

"What?" Nathan felt back in his seat. "You mean you're from an alternate universe?"

"Yes. I'm from a universe where you didn't survive. In my grief, I stepped back to intervene. All timelines are equivalent and overlapping. If one has the right skills, one can manipulate time to provide the best possible outcomes."

"Whoa. You mean like…?"

"You and I can go back to the point where you are preparing your shoestring spacecraft, and warn you to take better care sealing your airlock and other potential weak spots. This will reset your trajectory, providing a successful outcome."

"Wow! That's all I needed to know to get to Darius safely? Sheesh. Take me back, Prof. I gotta tell myself…" Nathan stopped to consider the matter. He rubbed his forehead. "Wait, why couldn't you just go a little further back and warn me yourself, without stopping to rescue me?"

"I thought it would be more effective if you, yourself, showed up to speak to your younger self with the full experience of what would happen if you didn't take better precautions."

"Uh, yeah. That would probably be effective." Nathan laughed tremulously. "Is this for real, or am I still out in space, losing oxygen and having hallucinations?"

Chen patted his shoulder.

"This is real, Nathan. More real than you'll ever know."

"When can we start?"

***

Nathan Price stepped back and admired his handiwork. The Honeybee was nearly ready for takeoff again.

"To think I got this done so cheaply," he said to Professor Feng Chen standing by. "I'm still celebrating making it to Mars and back. People said it was impossible. I proved them wrong."

"Solo trips are extremely dangerous," Chen observed. "Are you fully prepared to make the trip to Darius?"

"You bet! I've got all my fuel, provisions, the computers are programmed, and the vehicle is ready. What could possibly go wrong? I did it once. I can do it again on a grander scale. I'll launch tomorrow."

As they stood talking, two figures approached. Nathan glanced casually at them. Then he jumped and let out a yell.

"Dr. Chen, look! It's us!"

Nathan's doppelganger ran up to him with a duplicate of the professor.

"Nathan! Don't take off in that thing!" The future Nathan yelled, waving his arms.

"What's going on? Who are you two?" Past Nathan stepped backwards, nearly tripping over some tools.

"Don't frighten him," Future Chen said. "This is a delicate business. Hello, younger me. I wish you'd done a better job of protecting Nathan."

"What have we here?" Past Chen took off his glasses, polished them and put them back on. "Explain yourselves. What warped reality are you from?"

"Prof, are you taking them seriously?" Past Nathan said, looking from one to the other.

"Nathan, anything is possible. I've told you about the potential for time to be manipulated. Apparently we are being visited by versions of ourselves who figured out the secrets of time travel."

"Baloney." Past Nathan frowned. He poked a finger at Future Nathan. "What did you say about not taking off?"

"Your air seals are compromised, you foolhardy cheapskate. You can't go ten million light-years across space like that! You're gonna die."

"Yeah right. If I'm dead in the future, then who are you? My ghost coming back to haunt me?"

"No, no. Thank Dr. Chen—he came back from the future where you—I—died and rescued you, uh, me, and told me we had to come and warn you to avert the disaster I lived through so you could have a trajectory of—"

"You're crazy." Past Nathan cut him off. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"It makes sense," Past Chen said. "Air seals are a crucial part of the ship. What harm if you inspect them again?"

"I've inspected them a gazillion times. My quality control is indisputable."

"No it isn't!" Future Nathan shouted. "You want to die alone in outer space? You bought the cheapest seals you could find—they're worthless. Listen to me. I've been through it. The Honeybee blew up."

Past Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"Are you here to sabotage it?"

"No, you idiot! I'm here to save your life!" Future Nathan turned to Future Chen. "How can I convince him? I had no idea I was so reckless."

Future Chen glanced at the two Nathans with a faraway look. He was engaged in conversation with Past Chen about the complexities of quantum physics.

"Don't fret, my boy. Be patient with yourself."

Future Nathan scowled at Past Nathan. This was a nightmare he couldn't wake up from.

"Can I at least show you where the seal failure will be?"

"Aw come on. How do you think I got to Mars and back? Maybe in your timeline I failed? I made it with the same seals. Same supplier."

"The manufacturer issued a recall of those seals after the government investigated your death," Future Chen remarked. "They eventually went bankrupt."

"Really?" Past Nathan bit his lip. "You mean I'm buying from a dud company?"

"In this particular timeline, yes."

"Ugh. Well, in my timeline, I made it to Darius and back. So there."

"You know not of what you speak. You never were my best student, Nathan." Past Chen shook his head.

"After this, he definitely improves—at least in one timeline." Future Chen said.

Past Nathan glared at the two professors.

"You guys are like Tweedledum and Tweedledee. And as for you…" he swiveled to Future Nathan. "How dare you show up trying to tell me some nonsense about coming back from the dead to save my life? You just don't want me to be successful. What are you, a shoe salesman version of me?"

Future Nathan cringed at his own foolishness. Yet he smiled as he realized his attitude was probably pretty much the same across any timeline.

"No. I'm the version of you with enough sense to come back and try to help you. You can take it or leave it. It's your choice. I can't force you to alter your path. I can only warn you of the consequences."

The two Nathans stared each other down for many minutes. Past Nathan was tempted to turn his back and ignore these weirdos who'd fallen out of the sky. Future Nathan trembled, wondering what his younger self was about to do and knowing it would decide his own fate as well as that of Future Chen.

"Ok, fine. Show me where the problem is."

Future Nathan whooped and slapped his younger self on the back.

"Now you're talking! Come on, Prof, let's help him inspect The Honeybee."

***

"And that's the story of how I completed the first ever solo round trip to Darius and back."

Nathan Price smiled at his grandchildren as they sat enraptured around the cyber fireplace in his space station.

"Professor Chen was the first time manipulator. A true pioneer. I was lucky enough to believe what I saw. And the rest is history."

Word count: 1988.
Written for the September 2024 Official WdC Contest, Quotation Inspiration.
Prompt: "It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." — Bill Gates.