Quantum Touch Collection - Books 1-3

Chapter 5-1

THIS IS CRAZY, or is it me? Time travel is real. I, we, did it. His eyes are brown, not blue. How did it happen? Look at these kids, as comfortable with General Lee as they are with each other. If we get back, can we go again, somewhere else? I"ve seen black and white pictures, but to see him as he really looked. Looks. Wow. His uniform more light blue than gray. So that"s what cadet gray looks like. Even the braid is gold, woven to the sleeves, not like Hollywood yellow.

THIS IS CRAZY, or is it me? Time travel is real. I, we, did it. His eyes are brown, not blue. How did it happen? Look at these kids, as comfortable with General Lee as they are with each other. If we get back, can we go again, somewhere else? I"ve seen black and white pictures, but to see him as he really looked. Looks. Wow. His uniform more light blue than gray. So that"s what cadet gray looks like. Even the braid is gold, woven to the sleeves, not like Hollywood yellow.But his eyes more than everything, not the blue I had read somewhere, but brown. Sharp, yet sad. Piercing and aware. He"s a little taller than me. And he seems at ease with us, even glad to talk to the kids. I can"t believe this. I"m talking to Robert E. Lee. This is amazing. I"d really like to spend some time with him, but is it safe here for the kids? Can we get back? He looks tired, but maybe willing to talk? I can hope. Those thoughts ran through my head when I"d first realized who the man on the hilltop was. I wanted a chance to think about the rest of our conversation, but I needed more time. Maybe at dinner.

But his eyes more than everything, not the blue I had read somewhere, but brown. Sharp, yet sad. Piercing and aware. He"s a little taller than me. And he seems at ease with us, even glad to talk to the kids. I can"t believe this. I"m talking to Robert E. Lee. This is amazing. I"d really like to spend some time with him, but is it safe here for the kids? Can we get back? He looks tired, but maybe willing to talk? I can hope.Maybe at dinner.

“SIR, PERHAPS I can prove my claim to you.” Lee gestured for me to continue. I had ID in my wallet, so I handed my driver"s license to him.

“I see your likeness. It is different from the pictures we see in our newspapers, and your picture has color, matching your own. But there is nothing else here.”

I looked at the license. He was right. No address, no date of birth. So I pulled other identification from my wallet—my Social Security card, credit cards, health insurance card, auto registration. None had dates, and dates could have verified what I"d told the general. Or convinced him I had invested mightily in a very peculiar joke. I was confused. My final thought, my final chance, was to reach into my pants pockets; I knew I had started the day with money in my pocket. I withdrew blank pieces of paper. Perplexed, I handed General Lee the items from my wallet. Lee looked them over, but didn"t know what they were.

“These are things I have never seen, but they don"t explain anything. What is an auto driver license?”

“General, I don"t know how much time we have together, but if you can spare some, and if we could speak openly, my class may be able to convince you. I thought these items would help, but I was mistaken.”

Lee said, “Like you, Mr. Russell, I have little time I can count on. You are aware there is a war going on?”

“Yes, General, but General Johnston will surrender to General Sherman on April 26, and in November of this year, your ship, the Shenandoah will offer the final surrender.”

ShenandoahLee again stared at me, his eyes wide, losing patience, more than skeptical. “That is preposterous. You are guessing, sir. No one can know for sure what is happening in the other theaters of this infernal conflict.” Yet I sensed he was curious.

“I understand your skepticism, General, but perhaps there are other ways for me to prove it to you? May I bring my students back?” When Lee nodded yes, I waved the class back. When they were all gathered and quiet, I said, “Boys and girls, may I present to you, General Robert E. Lee, Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia of the Confederate States of America.”

In spite of the shocked and doubtful looks on their faces, and the general"s own uncertainty, Lee smiled and said gently, “It is a pleasure to meet y"all.”

I explained that we had discussed my lack of money and the missing name or address on my identification. Dan Wilkinson raised his hand. “Mr. Russell, we have our textbooks.” I took one and opened to a random page. Looking at the page upside down, Dan said, “Wow! The pages are blank.” I asked the kids to see if they had anything written in any of their books. Reaching into her book bag, Carol Murray took out her laptop.

The general observed all the activity and spotting the computer, asked, “Young lady, what is that?”

“It"s called a computer, General,” I said as I followed his glance to Carol. “It is one of our primary means of communication. Turn it on, Carol.” She did, and the battery was working. “Carol, see if you can find anything on the Civil War.” She clicked on Know It All, her browser, but a message appeared, “No Connection.” When I saw that, I told her, “Open a new word doc. Type something. Let"s show the general something of how it works. Can you open pictures?”

Another girl, Pat Leslie, said, “Mr. Russell, I have my cell phone.” I was oddly thankful she"d brought it with her.

“Pat, would you bring it here, please?” I looked at my watch, knowing that the period would be ending soon but not sure what would happen then.

Lee asked, “Mr. Russell, what is that on your arm?”

“We call it a wristwatch, General. It is a timepiece.”

“May I look at it?” I slid the expandable band and handed it to Lee, who removed his own watch from his pocket to compare. I was grateful to have refused to buy a digital model. “How do you wind it?” asked Lee.

I wasn"t sure how to answer. I said, “It"s run by a battery, General.”

“I am familiar with those. The battery was invented by Mr. Benjamin Franklin and then improved to create electric current. We have those batteries now, but I believe they only function in liquid and need a sizable container.” Knowing he would be surprised again, I removed the battery, a thin metal disk, and placed it in his hand. “This is quite amazing. Do you have other uses for batteries?” he asked.

I took Pat"s cell phone. “General, this device allows people to speak to each other. Over long distances.”

“Ah, like a speaking trumpet. I can speak to those men across that field. Sometimes hearing is difficult if the wind is up, but if they are closer it is quite acceptable, even when there is wind.”

“General, this device allows us to speak to someone in California, or Europe, or even farther distances, regardless of the weather. And we can hear their response.”

“If that is true, could you show me?” Lee asked.

“I"m sorry, sir, but the transmitters we need haven"t been created yet.” I handed the phone back to Pat.

Lee asked, “And that operates with a battery?” Pat removed the battery and handed it to Lee. The general passed it from hand to hand, held it between his index finger and thumb. “As confounding as this is, clearly you do not live near here, and perhaps are not from this time.” He lowered his eyebrows and sucked in his lips, at least that"s what it looked like. He was thinking, I think. “Quite interesting, I must say.”

“Mr. Russell,” said Carol, “I have some pictures, and I"ve typed a note about what"s happening here.”

“Thanks, Carol. Would you show them to General Lee?”

Carol walked over and offered him the laptop, saying, “If you"d like to hold it, sir…” He sat on a tree stump, and she knelt next to him. She tapped keys to move through her photo album. Lee looked at the pictures and then at Carol. He asked her if he could try. “Sure, General. Go ahead.” As though he were touching a baby, General Lee tapped the keys as he had seen her do. He smiled and looked at me. “Battery?” he asked.

“Battery.”

His curiosity overcame his reticence. “Mr. Russell, sir, why don"t you sit down. It seems we may have a reason to talk for a bit more.”

“Thank you, General. Class, sit!” The class crowded in close to the tree stumps where their teacher and their surprised host were sitting and found spots on the ground. The trees around us were bent, as if they were listening to this most unlikely conversation.

“Yuck” came from Jason James as he placed his hand on the undergrowth. Everyone looked at him, and he held up his hand. General Lee told us that there had been fighting there early the day before and handed his handkerchief to Jason.

“No thanks, General,” said Jason.

“Please,” said the general. “Those were my boys. It"s all right.”

“Okay, thanks,” said Jason, reluctantly taking it and wiping his hand. He handed it back, muddy and marked with dried blood. The general"s eyes blinked, and he looked down briefly, sighing, as he placed the handkerchief in his coat pocket.

A hand went up. “General, did you know George Washington?” asked Lauren Clinton. For the first time, the general chuckled. “I am sorry, young lady, but General Washington died before I was born. Although our families have been close for generations.”

I asked General Lee if he would permit a few questions. Lee said, “As long as you don"t tell me more about the near future, I"ll answer what I can. But first, would you tell me about driving? Why is it necessary to have a license to drive cattle where you come from?”

I thought a moment. “Briefly, General, a variety of powered vehicles were, I mean will be, built later in this century. You are familiar with the internal combustion engine?”

Lee nodded, “I have seen schematics but nothing in operation, other than trains.”

“Well, sir, a product called gasoline, is, um, will be, refined, from oil. It is highly combustible, and we have used it for more than a century to power vehicles. Take your wagons, as an example, General. Imagine if they were motorized instead of being drawn by horses or oxen. They might go ten miles per hour instead of ten miles in a day, and they could carry heavier loads.” A breeze blew through the clearing, spraying us with day-old rain.

While the class did its best to dry off, Lee continued my thoughts, “Our tactics would have changed, certainly.” He stroked his beard as he listened.