I sit back in my chair with a thump as a hush falls over the room. No, I don’t believe it. This has to be a test, to see how we react to something so completely unreal. Or maybe they mean it all as a metaphor. Envisioning ourselves in the future, something like that. Any second now, they’ll explain and it will all make sense—’cause they can’t seriously mean what I think they mean.

Adam raises his hand. “How does this accelerator work?”

Dr. Walters smiles, clearly pleased to have a star student. “The accelerator increases the atoms inside it to nearly the speed of light, causing time around them to slow down and—”

“The details are not important,” Lynne interrupts. “And before we go to questions, I want to make it clear that each of you can back out now, but this will be your last chance. Please remember that all of the information you have seen today is confidential, and that if you leave, you will be in breach of your contract.”

In other words, if we back out now we won’t get the money and assistance that Aether Corp is offering us. No one speaks, but no one gets up to leave either. Chairs creak as the others trade uneasy looks. Adam’s dark brows are pulled together behind his glasses. The blue-haired girl bites her black fingernails. Chris rubs his chin, his eyes narrowed, while Trent leans forward, mouth open. I don’t know what any of them are thinking, but no matter how impossible this sounds or how risky this may be, it’s the only chance I have for a future. There’s no way I’m walking out that door.

Lynn’s smile grows wider. “Very good. I’m pleased you’ve all decided to stay.”

Adam raises his hand again. I have to give it to the guy. He is definitely persistent.

Lynne purses her lips. “Mr. O’Neill, you have a question?”

“How far into the future are we going?”

“We believe you will arrive ten years from now,” Dr. Walters says.

“Ten years?” I blurt out. They’re serious about this. They’re actually sending us into the future. I think I might throw up. I just…I can’t even…

“That’s correct,” Lynne says. “Once there, we want you to take notes on the technology you find and bring back whatever you can. We also want your general impressions of the future, including news about the world, in particular related to—”

“Hold up,” Chris says. “Can we go back to the part where we’re going into the future? Is this shit for real?”

“Yeah, this must be some kind of joke, right?” Trent asks.

“I promise you, this is very real,” Lynne says. “In a few hours you will be in the future. Amazing, isn’t it?”