The Didymus Contingency by Jeremy Robinson Page A

news. That’s great news. Think of all the things we can learn. All the things we can do. We’re going to—”
    “Sally,” David’s voice was stern. “Don’t forget, Tom is still out there and if we don’t get him back, you and I and our entire world might cease to exist as it does right now.”
    “Worst case scenario, how much of our world could Tom alter by visiting ancient Israel two thousand years ago? That’s where you think he is, right?” Sally asked very seriously.
    “He’s there. Trust me,” David said. “Worst case scenario? Imagine a world without Jesus Christ.”
    Sally got a sickly look on her face, which then changed to amused. “You mean a world without Christianity? No more TV evangelists? No more Jehovah’s witnesses banging on my door? Tell me how I can help.”
    David was not amused, “This isn’t a joke. While you might not hold my particular beliefs about Jesus, you can’t deny the influence his life had on the entire world for the past two thousand years.”
    Leaning back in her chair Sally began to wrap her mind around the endless possibilities.
    “The Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, the Crusades, countless lives, deaths, marriages, births—all shaped by that single life,” David said.
    David took Sally’s purse and opened it. She began to protest, “Hey!” but David quickly found what he was looking for. He pulled out a dollar bill and thrust it in Sally’s face.
    “What does this say?” David asked.
    Sally glanced over the bill. She knew what David was showing her and she read the words aloud, realizing the ultimate meaning of, “In God We Trust.”
    “Exactly,” David said, “In God we trust. The God this currency refers to is Jesus. This country, like many others, was founded on a belief system created by the man Tom now seeks to debunk.”
    Sally’s eyes began to widen.
    “If Tom proves to the world that Jesus was a fraud, he will destroy everything we know and everyone we hold dear. This isn’t just Christianity that is being threatened; it’s millions of human beings for the past two thousand years.”
    Sally looked at David, her face pale, “When can you leave?”
    David stood to his feet, “Is everything ready?”
    “Yes.”
    “Today.”
    “You can’t. You’re—”
    “In no mood,” David said with authority, “Tom has to be stopped and I’m the only one who can do it… Now, give me my pants and turn around.”
    Sally smirked, picked up David’s pants and tossed them at him. “I’ll be outside.”
    As David watched Sally leave, a feeling snuck into his consciousness. Amid the tumultuous scenarios playing out in his mind, something unfamiliar and equally as frightening dug in deep. Affection.

    *   *   *   *   *

    Looking at himself in the wall-sized mirror, David didn’t recognize the man he saw. Not only did he look authentic, he looked downright ancient. It took only two days for LightTech to get all the necessary supplies. He didn’t like waiting to leave, but his wounds needed time to heal and with time travel, David could leave in ten years and still get there on time.
    He was dressed in a red-tinged, brown robe and sandals, and his watch had been cleverly disguised as a twine bracelet—not exactly standard issue for ancient Israel, but it shouldn’t attract any attention. David knew that retrieving Tom could be as risky as Tom’s own jaunt back in time and he wasn’t taking any chances.
    Sally laughed at David when she entered the small orientation room, designed for times like this when people would be preparing to travel through time. “Not bad,” she said as she handed him a small pouch.
    David opened the pouch and looked inside. It was full of ancient gold coins, gems and jewels. David’s eyes lit up. “You don’t think this is a bit overboard?”
    “I want to be prepared for every contingency. Just because you have the money, doesn’t mean you have to spend it,” Sally explained.
    “What contingency