Introduction:
This story was spawned by what David Gerrold calls a "refrigerator door" moment. That is, something hits you after the movie, while you stand at the door of the refrigerator.
His usual example is frm ET. Why didn't ET make a bicycle fly at the beginning of the movie. My refrigerator door moment has to do with time travel.
There is a serious scientific flaw in this story, but the flaw is so fundamental to the story that to remove it would cause the story to collapse. See if you can find it. I'll spill the beans at the end.
The Story, What a Difference a Day Makes
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES
RICK NOVY
It was down by the river that I found the little blue guy. He was hurt pretty bad, and I could hear him screaming from the other side of the trees. His screams sounded like fingernails against a chalkboard. At the time, I didn't know what was making that horrible noise, but I had to find out, so I walked around the trees and stood at the edge of the river. It was in a grove of cattails that I found him.
I couldn't believe what I saw. His body was light blue, almost gray, and around his neck was a chain holding a little glass jar containing a light brown crystal. This fellow had to be from outer space. At first, I couldn't tell how big he was because he was sitting in the water, leaning against that clump of reeds. He turned his head to look at me, and the chalkboard screeching stopped. Each of his two big eyes looked like the dome light in my truck, all shiny like that. He had a little mouth and two tiny slits where his nose should be. He just looked at me and slowly blinked those big dome lights, but he didn't say anything.
It was a little spooky to find a space alien in the river where I always fish. It takes a lot to rattle me 'cause I seen a lot in the war, but the blue guy looked like he was hurt. I set my fishing pole on the ground and waded out into the water so I could kneel down beside him. He didn't look all that tough, just weird. The little blue guy lifted a pencil-thin arm to take part of my hand in his wiry fingers. He guided my hand down into the water to his scrawny leg and ran my hand along the length. I could feel that his leg was broken.
"What happened?" I asked, not expecting any answer. We don't get many little blue guys in these parts, but I got an answer anyway.
"My world is much smaller than yours. I'm not used to so much gravity."
I wasn't really listening. I was just blown away that this creature could talk to me in English, even if it was with a strange accent.
"How can I understand you?" I asked him.
"I'm using a translation implant based on your planet's microwave emissions."
I shook my head. "I don't know what that means," I told him, "but that's okay. It's just good you can talk. How did you get in the water with your leg all messed up?"
The blue guy held up a handful of wet leaves. "I fell out of that tree while collecting specimens."
I looked up to see a branch maybe ten feet above the water. He was lucky he just broke his leg and didn't break his funny blue head with that fall. "Not too smart climbing trees when you got bird bones."
The blue guy's face turned gray in the cheeks. "My Commander will be displeased with that decision."
I didn't know what to do with this guy but I couldn't just let him sit in the water all day. "You can't stay in the river with a broken leg," I said. "You never know what's in the water, and the skeeters can get mean. Plus, the sheriff sighted a bear a few days ago." The blue guy looked a bit confused, but nodded. Maybe he understood it wasn't safe to stay. "Do you have anywhere you can get your leg fixed up?"
He blinked those big eyes again, real slow. "I have nowhere to go. My spacecraft left orbit and will not return until the day after tomorrow." His face lighted up with a big smile for such a small mouth. "I am on bivouac," he said. "Bivouac is a requirement for new officers."
"You'd better come with me, then." I scooted up to the blue guy to put one arm under his neck, and the other under his legs. "Let your good leg hold up the bad one. I'll carry you to my place."
When I lifted the little blue guy out of the water, I was expecting the weight of a retriever, but he weighed more like a hound dog. I was scared of breaking another bone, so I was very careful.
As I carried him toward the house, I started wondering about the little crystal on his chain. "What's that around your neck?"
He looked up at me, blinked his eyes once, then said, "It is a time crystal. Family honor requires I keep it with me at all times."
A time crystal? What did that mean? "Is it like some kind of a clock?" That's the only thing I could think of, because watches have quartz crystals inside.
"No," he said. "It is a time travel device." I think he could tell that I didn't believe him.
"Really," he said. "You just squeeze the crystal when you're thinking about a time. The time crystal takes you right to the when you were thinking."
"Come on," I said. "That's just a pretty rock. It ain't no time crystal."
He started shaking his head up and down real fast, saying "It is! It is!"
"You better sit still or I'm going to drop you"
He settled down, but kept on saying, "It is."
"Well, if you squeeze and think about when you want to go, how do you get back to now?"
"Just let go," he said. "You return a moment after you left. It's really quite interesting physics. You see, a temporal field is created…." He kept babbling like that for the next five minutes and I had no idea what he was talking about. I was going to ask him to let me try the thing, but we came out of the woods into the backyard and the little blue guy started pointing at the house.
"That's where I live," I said. "It isn't much, but I like it." I've always considered myself lucky to have a house in the woods just a short walk from the river. It makes for easy get-aways when my brother brings his friends over, and I don't need a boat to go fishing. He looked up at me with what seemed like a thank-you, but then he started tracing my tattoo.
"What is the significance of this pattern on your skin?" he asked.
"That's the stars and bars." The little guy looked confused. "It's a symbol of the south," I said. "A lot of people get them."
"It resembles a Melken cuttlefish," he said.
A Melken cuttlefish?
I walked around the side of the house to look through the garage window, then checked the driveway. Larry's car was gone, so I could get inside without Larry seeing. Larry could be a troublemaker, but he works at the junkyard most days. I walked in the back door and carried the little guy upstairs to my room.
Once I got the blue guy into the bed, I went to fetch the first-aid kit from the kitchen and a piece of dowel from the garage. When I got everything together, I rushed back to my room and I opened up the first aid kit to look for either tape or gauze. Gauze is what I found.
"What is that?" he asked, pointing at the dowel.
"I'm going to tie this to your leg so it can't move around." That made him squirm like a worm about to meet a fishhook. "I can't go carrying a three-foot tall, bird-boned, blue space alien into the county hospital, now, can I?" He seemed to relax after that. As I started unrolling the gauze, I asked him, "Do you have a name?"
"Andreniconadolotalia."
There was no way I could remember that. "That's a mouthful. How about if I just call you Andre?"
His little mouth smiled. "Yes, Andre is acceptable. Do you have a name?"
"Henri Dupre," I said as I tied one end of the dowel to his leg using the gauze. "But everyone calls me Hank."
Once I finished tying off the dowel, Andre blinked those big eyes at me and said, "Thank-you for helping me, Hank."
"It's nothing," I said. Not yet, but Larry would be home soon. Larry with his boozing and womanizing and gambling, what would he say if he saw this? I decided to forget Larry for now and try to keep Andre comfortable. "Would you like a glass of water?"
Andre nodded, and I decided he probably meant yes, so I walked into the bathroom, grabbed a paper cup, then filled it with cold water from the tap. I walked back to the bed and handed the cup to Andre. He looked at the cup like he'd never seen one before, but he figured it out soon enough. He tasted the water, but then he spit it back into the cup.
"This water is far too cold. Would it be possible to have a glass of hot water?"
I never thought about it that way, that an alien might not like his water cold. "We have some hot drinks, like coffee," I said, "but folks usually drink water cold."
"We have cold beverages, but my people usually drink water hot," he said. "Cold water just doesn't taste right."
I took the cup back to the bathroom and ran the tap until the water was hot, then I filled the cup and took it back to the bed. "Here you go," I said.
Andre took a hesitant sip, then said a screechy version of a satisfied, "ahhhh!" He looked up at me and said, "Your water has a unique flavor. It is very good when hot."
"Let me know if you want any more," I said, wondering if we had lead pipes.
"This cup holds plenty of water for me. Thank-you." He polished off the hot water and set the cup on the nightstand. "I require sleep now." He rolled over on his side, pulled the covers up to his chin, and closed his big eyes.
The bed wasn't big enough for me to sleep without crushing Andre, but I have a recliner in my room and occasionally sleep there when my back hurts. I'd be sleeping there while Andre was staying here. I sat down in that recliner to read my fishing magazine after Andre fell asleep, but I fell asleep, too, and didn't wake up until I heard Larry's voice.
"What in tarnation is that blue thing in your bed, Hank? That your new girlfriend?" He was shouting, and a little drunk. I could smell it on his breath.
I really didn't want Larry to see Andre, but it was too late. I pushed the lever on the recliner to down the footrest so I could stand.
"I found this little blue guy down by the river. He broke his leg, and I said he could stay here for a while." Larry didn't have any choice but to buy it. He was right in front of Larry's face, even if he could only see the funny blue head poking out from the blanket. "His name is Andre."
"Andre, huh?" Larry walked over and pulled the blanket off the bed so he could see Andre's skinny body, still asleep with dowel tied to his leg. "Andre." Larry shook his head. "You're yanking my chain, Hank. That thing there's a toy from the new outer space movie."
Then Andre woke up. Larry almost jumped clear out of his skin, but Andre just scooted himself up so he could sit. He was looking at Larry's hand. I followed Andre's eyes and saw that Larry was holding two beers, so cold they were dripping from the humidity.
Larry looked down at his beers, then back to Andre, then he held them out so Andre could see the bottles. "You want one?" Larry asked.
I answered for Andre. "I don't think he should be drinking alcohol until his leg heals." Andre looked at me as if he was going to go with whatever I said.
Larry put his arm back down and looked at me with an irritated expression. "When did you go to medical school, Doctor Hank Dupre? Just 'cause you drive am-boo-lance don't make you an expert." I really hated how Larry always said am-boo-lance. He did it on purpose to annoy me. "Let him answer for himself." Larry looked back at Andre and said in a sappy voice. "You want a beer, Andre?"
Andre answered in his screechy slam-on-the-breaks voice. "What is beer?"
I wanted to tell him it was alcohol, but Larry got in before I could. "It's the nectar of the gods," he said. "A cold brew is just what you need to relax after a hard day, and it sure looks like you've had a hard day ‘cause I see you ended up in Hank's bed." Larry laughed at his own joke as he popped the top from one bottle with his teeth and handed the beer to Andre, who handed it back immediately.
"It's far too cold," Andre said.
Larry spit the bottlecap onto my floor, then looked at Andre like he had no head. "Beer can never be too cold." He walked out of my room with both beers and didn't bother to close the door behind him.
* * *
I had to work that evening, and didn't get home until three in the morning. I tried to be quiet going up the stairs to my room, not wanting to wake up Andre, but he was already awake.
"I like Larry," Andre said.
"Oh?" I had a bad feeling about Andre being friends with Larry. "Why is that?"
"I like Larry," Andre repeated.
I flicked on the light then walked over to Andre to see if he was still in one piece. The dowel was still on his leg and Andre didn't look like Larry hurt him, but his breath smelled like the floor of a bar at closing time. "You were drinking beer with Larry?"
Andre nodded toward the nightstand where I saw three empty beer bottles, and three full ones. "Beer is good warm," he said as he smiled as wide as that little mouth could go. "I like Larry."
"I know you like Larry."
"Larry is nice. I like him."
"You're drunk," I said. "Sleep it off, will ya?" That's when I noticed something missing. Andre wasn't wearing that time crystal thing.
"Where is the time crystal you used to wear on that chain?"
"My time crystal?" Andre pointed at the beers on the night stand. Larry gave me those beers to let him use it. He wanted to go to a dog track." Andre's head swayed and he shook it fast, as if to clear away cob webs. "I like Larry."
Time crystal? Dog track? Wait a minute. "The track isn't open until morning. Where's Larry now?"
"Too tizzy to dalk so thoo. Immamorming," Andre said as he passed out.
Great. There was a drunken space alien passed out in my bed, and Larry was taking its time crystal to the dog track. I never thought the time crystal might actually be real, but if Larry wanted it….
I just hoped that little blue space aliens didn't puke when they get drunk. I slept in the recliner.
* * *
I woke to the sound of screeching. Loud screeching. My eyes popped open and I saw Andre grabbing at his chest. The screeching came from his wide open mouth. I jumped out of the recliner and ran across the room to be at his side.
"What's the matter, Andre?"
"My time crystal," he said as he put his face in his hands. "It's gone!"
Great, now Andre can't remember anything with his hangover. "Last night, you told me Larry borrowed it."
He slowly moved his hands off his face and turned his head toward me with those big eyes wide open. "I gave my time crystal to Larry when I was drinking alcohol?" Andre shook his head. "That's very bad. Where did Larry go?"
"Last night, you said he was taking it to the track."
Andre tilted his head like a dog hearing a weird noise. "Does he know how to use it?"
Why was Andre asking me? "Only if you told him," I said.
"Oh no." Andre put his face back in his hands. "Larry is in great danger. You must get the time crystal back from him."
"I don't understand." I really didn't. How could traveling in time be dangerous? "What kind of danger could he be in?" I asked.
"Go! Go! Get it back from Larry now!" he said. Andre was in such a panic I thought he was going to bounce himself off the bed and out the window, so I grabbed my jacket and ran to the door.
I knew why Larry took the time crystal to the dog track. He wanted to go to tomorrow and see who won today's dog races, then come back and place his bets. Today was the one day a week that the tracked was open in the morning, but it was still early. Maybe I could catch Larry before the first race.
* * *
The dog track wasn't crowded, and it was still a half-hour before the first race. Larry had to be here somewhere. Where would he go? It would have to be someplace private, where nobody could see him today or tomorrow. I thought about under the bleachers, but they were set into concrete on the side of a hill. There wasn't any under. The track, kennel, and scoreboard areas were off-limits, and Larry didn't know anybody important, so he had to be in the public part of the track. Where could he go?
The can!
I walked into each mens room in the stands, but I never saw Larry. For a second, I thought he might be in the future, but then I remembered that Andre said he would come back right after he left. I thought I might try the womens rooms, but Larry wouldn't go to tomorrow someplace where he would call attention to himself. Where else could he go? I walked past the betting windows and around the building until I got to the back. The oleanders were really thick, and somebody would have to walk back here on purpose to see anything. As I pushed through the oleanders, I noticed a small sidewalk that was the real way to the back, and an open door in the building. It was shady, and that early in the morning, it was almost dark back there. The door had ‘janitor' written across it, and was standing open. I couldn't see inside because the door was opened toward me, but as I walked up, I thought I saw a shadow move in the crack between the door and the wall of the building.
I called out, but not too loud, "Larry!"
"Get out of here, Hank." It was Larry's voice. "I'm going to make some money and get out of this dump of a town."
I hoped I could reach him before he could use the time crystal. "Andre says that thing is dangerous."
"How could there be anything dangerous about it?" Larry's voice was calm but firm. "I think of tomorrow and squeeze, then I'm right here in this closet tomorrow. I come out and read the results from today's races, go back in the closet and come back to make my bets. Where is the danger?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure Andre is telling the truth." Honestly, I couldn't see the danger either, but I was almost to the door.
Larry laughed. "That blue runt just wants his time crystal back. I made a fair trade. He's so small he probably still has some of the beer left. See you in a second, Hank. I'll let you place bets with me."
He said that as I reached for the door to push it against the wall, wide open. That was when I heard the splat, like a big water balloon smashing against a brick wall. What just happened to Larry?
I came around the door to find the janitor's closet dark, and the little bit of light from outside was no help. I went into the room and almost fell down because the floor was slippery. I managed to stay on my feet, then I felt along the wall for the light switch. I finally felt a string against my face. I tugged the string and the light turned on.
The slippery stuff was blood. Larry's blood. It was splattered everywhere in the janitor's closet—on the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. Slumped up against the back wall was what was left of Larry's exploded body. Oh my God, what happened to you, Larry? My brother, dead!
I wanted to puke, but I forced myself to look for Andre's time crystal. Larry, Larry, Larry. What am I going to tell mama? The chain with the little jar was around Larry's neck, and the time crystal was still lying loose in what was left of his hand.
I stepped carefully across the floor, took the chain from his neck, then took the time crystal out of his hand. It was still warm. I dropped the crystal into the little jar and screwed the cover back on, then I stuffed the whole thing in my pocket before I walked carefully back to the door. There was a spigot on the outside wall near the closet. I reached around and turned it on, then I pulled my shoes off one at a time, stepping onto the concrete with my bare feet. I washed off my shoes as best I could, then I carried them into the oleanders, leaving the water running. I put my shoes back on and found the nearest way out.
I walked straight from the dog track to the woods, where I tossed my shoes into a clump of cattails in the river, then I walked back to the house, picking up my fishing pole as I walked past the place I found Andre. I cried all the way home.
* * *
When I got back to the house, I gave the chain with the time crystal back to Andre. He must have noticed the blood on the crystal and the chain, because his eyes went wide, really wide, even for Andre. He asked me about Larry, but I was too stunned to answer. I went downstairs and cried in the kitchen, leaving Andre in the bed with his broken leg.
After an hour, I came back upstairs. I turned on the news and we watched a reporter interview the janitor after he discovered the mess. The sheriff didn't know what happened, his ideas were just dumb. There was enough blood on the floor that it oozed over all my footprints, and the water washed away anything I might have left outside, so to the sheriff, it looked like some kind of weird suicide. I didn't know what made Larry explode, but I knew it wasn't suicide. Andre seemed bothered.
"Do you know what happened to him?" I asked.
Andre nodded. "Explosive decompression."
"Like being in outer space without a spacesuit?" I was wondering how Larry could be all exploded. "I think I saw that in a movie once."
Andre looked into my eyes. "That's exactly where he was, in space without a pressure suit."
I was really confused now. "You said he would appear in the future in the same place he left. Why would he appear in outer space and not the janitor's closet?"
Andre shook his head. "You don't understand, Hank. He did appear. Exactly where he was."
"Huh?" Now I was completely confused.
Andre took my hand in his own little hand. He made a twirling motion with his free hand. "Your planet rotates on its axis, and revolves around your sun. Your sun moves around the center of the galaxy, and this galaxy moves through the universe."
I could only sit on the edge of the bed and stare.
Andre continued. "To use a time crystal safely, a very fast spacecraft and precise calculations are used. We have a long list of safety precautions."
I think I finally got it. "So, you mean Larry appeared in outer space where the closet used to be?"
Andre nodded his head.
"I told Larry one day his gambling would come back and bite him." I sat down on the end of the bed. "You want a glass of hot water, Andre?"
He shook his head. "You need to pack, Hank."
"What do you mean?"
Andre squeezed my finger with his little hand. "Hank, the sheriff is going to look here first. You're going to be the main suspect in Larry's murder."
What was Andre trying to say? "I didn't kill Larry!"
"That's why you have to leave your planet with me in the morning." Andre looked at the ceiling with his big eyes.
"What if I just leave town for a while?"
Andre shook his head. Deep down, I knew he was right. He got me into this, and this was his only way of getting me out.
I stood up and walked over to the window, looking out into the darkness with one final tear in my eye. "I'm going to miss the river."
"I'll take you to see a Melken cuttlefish."
I looked down at my tattoo. "I think I'd like that."
END
End Notes
Did you catch the scientific flaw? Truth is, people don't explode when exposed to vacuum. For this story to work, I took the liberty of using a Hollywood special effect.
Exposure to vacuum is more like the scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey. People don't explode, but they might bloat. Since the time crystal has to be released
to bring the time traveller back, bloating the body would leave it in the future forever. I had to explode the body to bring it back to the present. So, be it known that the author DOES know, but wrote it this way anyhow. Dramatic license. Hope you enjoyed the story.