As Tom entered the pub Ryan waved at him from his chair. Tom acknowledged him and made his way up to his table. “A beer will do for me” he told the waiter and took his seat. One bottle of beer arrived and was duly dispatched, followed by another and one more. The funny thing about drinking is that people start speaking trash when they are in their senses and once they are sloshed they start speaking about the most intellectual things. Our protagonists were involved in a discussion about science. Ryan said “I watched the movie Time Machine recently. Really loved it. How cool it would be to travel back in time. I wish I could do that so that instead of wasting time with you I would be in a date.” Tom retorted “Can time machine change the fact that you were voted Mr. Ugliest in college?” Before Ryan could reply Tom decided to change the topic “However, time travel is possible only in the movies. In real life it’s just a figment of imagination.”
“Figment of imagination? What do you know about time travel?” the voice was not of Ryan's but someone else's. An old man was sitting in the next table and he was looking at their direction. “Time travel is not a figment of imagination. It has been done in the past. “Ryan and Tom were sure that this man is out of his mind and instead of arguing with him they paid their bills and left the bar. While they were leaving the bar, the man shouted on their back “It is one of the biggest cover ups in human history”. Tom looked back but Ryan dragged him away.
That night Tom couldn't sleep peacefully, the phrase Biggest Cover Up in Human history was playing repeatedly in his mind. Was it the gibberish of a sloshed man or the tip of the iceberg? He searched the internet for time travel and what he got was references of the book Time Machine only. Frustrated he gave up and went to sleep.
Next day when Tom was returning from work he found that same old man on the street. Tom walked up to him and said “Sir. Sorry about yesterday, I would love to hear your story.” The old man looked up to him and smiled “Good. And for your information it’s not a story but a real life incident. Follow me.”
Tom accompanied him inside a nearby pub and he started his story. The year was 1943. The world was in the midst of World War II. In those days going to work meant serving the army. My friend the Late John Bradley was a marine. He was one of the best and toughest men in the army. His boss was Lieutenant Steven Dempsey – head US navy operations. One day the Lt. Called up John and told him that he has been selected for a high profile mission. As per the words of the Lt. it was going to be a voyage of a lifetime. My friend the daredevil marine signed up for the mission without thinking for a second. Little did he know that it was not a mission but rather a suicide. The ship was the US Navy destroyer escort named USS Eldridge. The place was Philadelphia. The date was October the 28th. It was a crystal clear day. Around 20 marines were chosen for that mission. The Lt. delivered a motivating speech to the so called chosen ones. He told them “Gentlemen history will be kind to you because today you will write it. All the best.” The ship was surrounded by some huge structures which the unsuspecting sailors were told as fuel tanks. In reality they were electrical generators. Their purpose was to bend light around the Eldridge.
Tom was listening with his mouth gaping. The old man took a deep breath and continued, the marines boarded the ship and waited for it to sail. But instead of sailing something else happened. The so called fuel tanks closed around the ship and without any warning they were switched on. There was deafening noise around the place. The marines suddenly realised something was wrong and tried to escape the ship, but their eyesight was blocked by a blinding flash of light. The electrical generators started serving their purpose and light was starting to bend around the Eldridge. The soldiers started shouting in fear, grown up men were crying like scared babies not knowing what was happening. And then the generators reached full power. The ship was engulfed with blue light, the cries suddenly stopped. The Eldridge disappeared from sight.
There was pin drop silence in the pub where Tom and the old man were sitting. Tom realised they were the only people left in the pub. He also felt Goosebumps. “What happened next?” Tom asked. The old man sipped his beer and said “After 10 seconds the Eldridge reappeared. A call came from Virginia about 320kms away that they had spotted the Eldridge at their port. It was dismissed by the Lt. as nothing but hallucination. But in reality the Eldridge travelled back in time. This was a part of an experiment – The Philadelphia Experiment.” What happened to your friend John? When the ship returned John was found dead, his hand 10 feet away from him. Most of the crew members died, only a few survived. So why doesn’t anyone know about this experiment? Enquired Tom. Because the ones who survived were given medicines to wipe out their memory. You see young man, time travel is plausible. Saying this, the old man stood up and started walking away.
Tom was curious. Hey he shouted back. If no one knows about this, how come you know? Who are you? The old man looked back from the door, smiled at Tom and said Lieutenant Steven Dempsey wishes you and your family a merry Christmas... and he disappeared.
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