Girl From The Future

This is a story about the adventures of Kara Sandborn. She was born in the 24th century in a world very different from ours in many ways. Kara was what we would call a genius by our standards. She had a photographic memory, and by the age of twenty-one had three advanced university degrees under her belt. But like most young people of any era, at twenty-one she didn't know with certainty what she wanted to do with her life.

Her parents were tired of her hanging around the communal dwelling they shared with ten relatives and close friends. They were pushing her to get some kind of serious job and move out. They loved their only child, but she really needed to get a life. So they sat her down and proceeded to have the " big talk" with her. They told her she had to choose a career and become "serious," as they put it.

After a few days of feeling sorry for herself, Kara decided to go job hunting. She came across some information on what looked like a research program whose purpose was a "first person" historical accounting of civilization. "This might be something I could really sink my teeth into," she surmised after reading the literature. She contacted the company and arranged an interview date.

As it turned out, this job had a lot more to it than Kara first thought. It was all about researching past civilizations, but the "twist" was that Kara was expected to go back physically in time and learn as much as she could about the era on which she was reporting. She would then return to the present and chronicle her findings. Kara reckoned this could be what she had been looking for, something more exciting then the usual boring day jobs.

After an extensive interview and looking over Kara's qualifications, particularly her photographic memory, she was offered the job. Training would commence immediately, and she would need to move into the company's facilities.

The next morning she was back at 8 am sharp, ready to begin her training. She learned that it was up to her to do the core research on the assignment she was given. The language would be no problem since they would implant a universal translator behind her ear. With her photographic memory, this job was a perfect fit for her. She would mingle with the natives, learning all she could about their customs and the status of their civilization. When she returned she was to report all of her findings.

The three week training session was gruelling but Kara got through it. Each night she went through a manual of conduct and rules, which to her seemed endless and detailed. She had them all memorized by the end of the three weeks.

She was to be given only one critical tool, the PC-20. This devise was the only technology she was allowed to take back in time. If she lost that item she would be stuck in that era for the rest of her life. Without it, a search team would not be able to find her.

The PC-20 truly was a marvel, even in the 24th century. Very small in size, it had been installed into a beautiful antique locket and attached to a chain to be worn around the neck. Kara was taught a few of the operating basics, and then it was up to her to become familiar with the functions installed in it.

The PC-20 was the tool she would use to travel back and forth in time. She would be able to materialize anything she would need on her assignment, from clothes to food and even money and diamonds. Once activated, a voice command was all that was needed to operate it. A small microdot on the locket served as a camera, recording everything in its sight path for playback once Kara returned from her assignment.

After spending another few days getting familiar with the people she would be working with as well as her new home base her training neared its end. (I just can't wait to have my first assignment. I wonder where it will be? Oh Gods, it could be anywhere in time!) Her imagination went wild thinking of all the possibilities.

Finally, she was given her first assignment. Reading it over-hurriedly, she learned that she was to travel back to the 21st century; to 2013, to a place called London England. She vaguely recalled reading of London, but she was unsure where it was on the planet. All the names of the countries had changed after the Great Upheaval.

Her task was simple for her first mission; she was to become familiar with the way people lived and their attitudes toward a variety of topics. There were plenty of documents still existing from that era but the mandate of the project was to gather information directly with the chosen subjects. Kara learned she was to be there for two days, after that she would transport herself back to her time for her initial report. It was in reality a test assignment to see if she had the wits to think on her feet and adapt to unforeseeable situations. She would either sink or swim.

If things didn't work out right, meaning if she didn't make it back in two days, the PC-20 would self destruct and the company would assume the worst. (In actuality the company would go to great lengths to try and find her and retrieve her, but she wasn't told that.)

As she walked back to her room, Kara reflected, "This isn't going to be as easy as I first thought, but I know I can do it. I was made for this job. I can't believe this is really going to happen." She knew it could be very dangerous and it felt very much as though she had no one to rely on but herself.

Kara was to report the next morning at 9:00 a.m., ready to go, sharp mentally as well as physically and wearing the style of clothes popular in the year 2013.

When Kara awoke the next morning, she wished that she had done more research. But she just shrugged, reckoning she could pull it off anyways. She had a hearty breakfast, dressed and went to the launch room. Where she was met by a technician by the name of Lor.

Glancing up at her from his workstation his eyes went over her outfit, " Are you sure you're dressed for the right era?" Looking down at herself she replied, " Of course I am, let's just do this."

He programmed the coordinates and once they were set, he signalled her to step onto the platform. As she did this she mentally checked to make sure she had all she needed, the PC-20 and what she thought was the right outfit. Then she closed her eyes, "I'm ready."

The trip in time took no time at all.

When Kara opened her eyes, she found she was on a road at night and it was raining. " Now this certainly isn't what I had in mind when I took this project on," she thought. Sighing, she looked around and saw a glow in the sky, indicating a city. She started to walk in that direction, hunching down to try and keep warm.

About twenty minutes later Kara heard an unfamiliar noise. Looking around she saw some lights headed towards her. She put her hand in front of her face, trying to shield her eyes and see what was coming. Since she was in the middle of the road, the thing slowed down and stopped.

Kara was too astonished to even get over to the side of the road. This was one of those ancient vehicles known as a car, and it was in running order, a fact she found amazing! She walked up to it all the while looking it over. It made a humming noise unlike anything she had ever heard before. She knew that there was a group of hobbyists back in her era that had these antique motor vehicles and they kept them in working operation. The group was highly regulated and were only allowed to operate them in a designated area because of the pollution they were known to emit. You had to have a special license to even own one of them.

A window located on the side of the vehicle went down and a man inside the vehicle leaned her way and asked, "Do you need a ride?" She replied, "Oh can I? I mean, yes, I do indeed need a ride." She could see that he was in his late twenties, with curly light brown hair and a kind face. He was flashing a wide smile at her. He was quite handsome and from what Kara could see, he had a trim, athletic build.

She waited for his next move, he finally said, "Well, come around to the other side and get in, by the way, don't drip too much on my new leather seats."

As she walked around to the side he had indicated, she thought, (Leather seats! Like in animal skins! I really am in the far distant past.) When she came around the side she stopped and waited for him to give her instructions on how to open the car. He finally leaned over and opened the door saying, "Get in before you catch pneumonia!"

Kara was doing some fast thinking as she slid into the seat beside the guy. She had to pretend that she knew all about cars, but it was hard to keep her face casual. He smiled and said, "My name is Ryan. What are you doing alone out here at night in the rain? You look like a drowned rat." Chuckling, "Here take my sweater and get yourself warm."

Kara replied, "Nice to meet you Ryan, my name is Kara, and thanks for giving me a... ride." She took the sweater and wrapped it around herself, meanwhile thinking up some excuse for being out there all alone. Finally she said, "My lift was late picking me up, so I decided to walk. I didn't expect it to start to rain. By the way, where are you heading?"

"I'm going home, I live in London. Are you headed that way? I could drop you off anywhere you would like."

By this time he had a chance to look Kara over and he liked what he saw. She was dressed rather oddly, like from the 70s but off somehow, she was a looker, that was for sure. Kara had done a very quick search on clothing styles and had come up with a red mini skirt, and a tight tube top. She had been so focused on the styles that she had completely overlooked the material of her garments. Her skirt and tube top were both made of a very thin and very clinging material which were favored by the young women of her era. Her nubile build and her generous breasts filled out her garments provocatively. Her dark brown hair was half way down her back and looked nearly black from being wet. As it was she was out of style by only around 40 years. Lucky for Kara, in 2013 London, styles were very flexible.

Ryan waited for Kara to answer him and when she didn't, he shrugged his shoulders, "Lets get going." He waited. They both looked at each other for a long minute. Ryan fianlly said, "This is a new car, and it won't start until you have your seat belt connected."

Kara looked around wondering, (A belt, what on earth is he talking about? I am not wearing a belt.) She decided to lift her eyebrow and just stare at him. Rolling his eyes he finally leaned over, grabbed her seat belt and buckled it in. "Oh! I knew that," she lied, looking out the side of the window she felt a sharp surge of panic in her stomach.

She realized now that this experience wasn't going to be as easy as she had first thought. She was going to have to be on her toes at all times.

Ryan shook his head and drove towards the distant city. "You must be new around here? Where exactly are you from?"

Kara turned and looked at him, "Why do you say that?" She knew she had to keep calm, and not talk too much. Now, even more than before, she wished she had done her more thorough research. Her hand felt for the PC-20, just touching it made her feel better. As long as she had that, she could get through anything.

Evading his question, "So, where are you taking me now? I would like to get to know you better. What your life is like and what are your views in general."

Ryan took his eyes off the road long enough to have another look at this very strange but beautiful girl. His eyes kept straying to her long legs; they seemed to go on forever. He briefly considered the possibility that this provocative beauty might be a working girl, given her skin tight skirt and top. But her face seemed incapable of guile, so he dismissed that notion. He thought to himself, "Why not go along with what she wants, it just might turn out very interesting." He smiled at her and replied, "How about we go to a pub I know, have a couple of drinks and I will then answer any questions you may have. What do you say? I know a nice place that I think you would really like."

Relieved Kara smiled back at him and replied, "Oh yes, I would like that very much." She sat back and enjoyed her first car ride. The scenery was so very different from what she was used to back in her time. For one thing, you could go for miles and miles without seeing another human being. Extraordinary!

In no time they came to the outskirts of London. Kara saw many people coming and going, the activity and the newness of this world had her disoriented. She asked Ryan, "Where are all these people going?"

He told her it was at night that London really came alive. "Are you sure you're not a "newbie"?"

Lifting her eyebrow again, she replied, "Noobie? What is that? I am certainly not a noobie whatever that is; are you being insulting?"

Ryan said, "Whoa, now! I never meant to insult you, do you even know what a newbie is?" When she hesitated, he told her it was someone who was brand new to a region or country. "You are kind of touchy aren't you? Just relax; I'm not a bad sort of guy."

By this time, they had arrived at the pub. Ryan found a parking place and got out of the car, pausing to look at Kara. After waiting for a minute, he realized he had better go around and help her out of the car. Opening the door, he reached over her lap and undid the seat belt. Kara watched him, making sure she would be able to do it herself from then on, or for as long as she was in this time period.

As she got out of the car she saw him roll his eyes, which didn't sit well with her. Frowning, (If he wasn't so good looking as well as helpful, I would walk away right now, besides he'll make a good subject to study.)

They walked across the parking lot and went into the pub. It was pretty crowded and dimly lit, with loud music blaring from the over sized speakers on the walls. After being seated near the dance floor Kara had a chance to look around. The music was loud and even though it was old fashioned, it had a driving, commanding beat to it. There were a lot of people dancing. "Fasinating!" she thought.

"This is nice. I think you're right, Ryan, I am going to like this what did you call it?...pub." Looking at the table she asked, "Is this table made of real wood?" Ryan again just looked at her.

A waitress came around and asked what they wanted to order. Ryan told her he would like a pint of bitters and then waited to see what Kara wanted. "I'll have the same thing, please." She smiled at the waitress and was rewarded with a smile and a wink from the attractive redheaded waitress.

When their drinks arrived, Kara watched as Ryan took a big swallow and smacked his lips saying, "Now that was just what I needed." Kara laughed and attempted to do the same thing. But when she did, her eyes bugged out followed by gasping and coughing. "What on earth is this stuff? It's just the worst thing I have ever tasted."

Ryan laughed, "Now I know you aren't from these parts, everyone knows what bitters tastes like around here. Let me order you some white wine, that should be more to your liking." He called the waitress over and ordered Kara a glass the house white wine.

After tentatively tasting the wine she found it much better and started to smile and watch the people enjoy their evening. She asked Ryan about his life and was able to get quite a lot of information without having to talk very much about herself.

By closing time, Ryan and Kara had settled into a pleasant buzz provided by the drinks they consumed. Ryan could see that Kara was in a very mellow mood so he asked her if she would be interested in coming back to his place, saying he had some very lovely wine he wanted her to sample. She was happy to accept his offer. As it turned out she liked the wine from this era very much. It tasted a lot different than anything she had tried in her time, most of which was non-alcoholic.

When she got up, the room started to spin and Ryan quickly gave her a helping hand. She really was a little more then tipsy. They got to his car and he put Kara in, buckling her up, "Are you going to be okay? I can take you home if you want, or do you still want to sample my wine?" He grinned at his own words.

She looked up with a silly grin of her own, "I would love to sample your wine, Ryan." She proceeded to relax against the seat with her eyes closed.

Ryan, got in and drove to his flat. It didn't take long, since it was only a few blocks away. He kept looking at Kara, thinking to himself that this girl was sure a beauty, strange, but so pretty. He hoped he would get lucky tonight. He drove into the parking lot, stopped the car, and said, "Here we are."

Kara opened her eyes and smiled. She really was in a mellow mood. "Okay, I am ready to taste your special wine now." Her hands searched for the belt buckle. As she fumbled for it, Ryan reached over and unclasped it for her, lightly kissing her. Startled, she looked up at him lifting her eyebrow and retorted, " What did you do that for?"

He laughed and replied, "You looked very kissable, was it so bad?" Kara thought about it for a few seconds, "No, it wasn't bad at all." Satisfied with her answer, he got out of the car and came around, opened the door and gave Kara his hand. She took it and slid out of the seat. It was lucky he had offered her his hand since she otherwise would have fallen down.

Holding her up he commented, "You really can't hold your liquor can you?" You only had a few glasses of wine."

She pushed herself off of him and replied, "Of course I can, geezz!" When she walked unsteadily towards the front door. Ryan quickly moved in front of her and opened the it. She walked on through, paused looked up at him with silly grin, "Well, which way do I go now?"

Ryan guided Kara to his apartment, unlocked the door and ushered her in. She looked around and smiled. "This is a very nice living area, and so roomy. Have you lived here all your life?"

Ryan laughed, "No, I've been here for just 3 years, but I'm thinking of getting a bigger place soon." Shaking his head, he went into the tiny kitchen to get some glasses and the wine. He called out, "Make your self comfortable, I will be right with you."

Kara walked a little unsteadily around looking at all the different things that she had only read about in the history archives. The furniture was made of all kinds of wood, something rare in her world. She touched all the things she saw. Finally she came to the book case, her eyes got big. Real paper books; something not seen by the average person of her time. Paper books were only to be found in museums and of course private collectors. She took one out and cautiously opened it carefully turning the pages reading some of the printed text. This was like being in a museum only live. Even with the wine in her system her brain was soaking up all the information she was coming across. (Well, well, it looks like Ryan is a science fiction fan.)

Finally he came back into the living room with two wine glasses and the promised bottle of wine under his arm. Setting them on the coffee table, he asked," Do you like my little place?"

Kara put the book carefully back she glanced at Ryan, "Oh yes, it's really outstanding, you're very lucky to have all this space plus you have an interesting book collection, I noticed your interested in science fiction." He patted the seat beside him and smiled, "Indeed, ever since I was a young ladd."

She walked over to the sofa and sat. He handed her a glass of wine and waited while she sipped it. Swallowing, Kara got a big grin on her face. "This is really lovely, what kind of wine is this?" She then took another sip.

Ryan told her he had got it as a Christmas present from his great Aunt Beth, and had been waiting to share it with a special person like her. She laughed at that and took another sip of wine. "This is really delicious." Her glass was going down fast now, and her whole body felt warm and fuzzy. Ryan kept refilling her glass and snuck in a few quick kisses in between.