If you're Gerhart Vogel, you experiment, like any good scientist… even if that means stealing the time machine.
It's 1974, and Vogel is having a bad day. His girlfriend dumped him, he's homeless, he can't even afford dinner — and to top it off,
he's standing on the side of the road, out of gas. So when a cleaning crew stops and offers him a ride to their workplace, which has its own supply of gas,
he takes them up on the offer.
He's shocked when he finds that their workplace is a secret underground base, home to a shuttered government attempt
to harness time travel. A quick diversion after a bathroom break leads him to the project labs, which have been left
unlocked by the cleaners. Unable to restrain his curiosity, he enters and finds the machinery in sleep mode.
Although Vocal is cynical, he finds the concept intriguing—and his interest climbs when he finds a handwritten journal kept by the former project leader, Dr. Hayes, explaining point-by-point how to use the equipment.
Still unconvinced, he decides to go back and save Robert Kennedy in 1969. After following Hayes's instructions,
he's successful in his mission — but is forced to flee when Federal agents try to take him and the timeship into custody.
He attempts to escape back to his own time, but is diverted to the Massachusetts of 1653 by the frantic staff of the time
travel project, who have caught up with him and are now doing everything in their power to cover their asses.
The diversion leaves the ship's batteries with just enough power to hide it. The good news is that its solar panel
is intact, and can collect enough power to time-jump again in a few months. Meanwhile Vogel befriends the owner of the
farm he's landed on, Edna, and she allows him to stay in a small guest cottage on her land. He begins to make a new life for himself.
Soon after, he meets Rook, a young Native American girl, and they fall in love.
This doesn't set well with Nathida, Rook's occasional lover and runaway ninja acolyte. And then there's
the fact that the local priest, who is trying to force Vogel to work for him, is mentally imbalanced... and is scheduled to kick
off the infamous Salem witch-hunt in just a few weeks.
Needless to say, Vogel finds himself juggling a great deal, from his own temporal illness
to his efforts to avoid the witch-hunt, managing his alcoholic landlord, meeting his erstwhile in-laws, and dealing with
Rook's erratic behavior. Ingamells ties up all the threads in a satisfying way, though as with all temporal fiction, the ending
may leave you scratching your head a bit as you try to wrap your mind around it.
All in all, a great first effort! Highly recommended.
