"Strike One! Strike Two! Strike Three! You're Out!"

In the locker room, Andy sat on the bench and started to remove his cleats. He stopped as his thoughts went over the past few hours. Andy had been in his grandfather's basement again. He was still not over his experience with Aman and Noah. His thirst for Biblical knowledge had intensified tremendously. He attended Sunday School and extra Bible study meetings every time they were offered. He read from his own Bible constantly why, he even carried it in his backpack at school. In fact he'd been called down by his teacher for reading it during class. Andy wanted to blurt out what he had discovered in the basement. He wanted to let everyone know that his grandfather was a genius. It took Andy's grandfather almost two hours to convince him not to say anything. Finally Andy agreed, but only after he made his grandfather promise he could use the machine again. Andy's grandfather agreed, but on one condition; and that was that he would install another seat and would go along with Andy in case anything went wrong. In a way Andy wished he's been there with him at the flood.

Andy and his grandfather spent many hours together in the basement. Actually the older man was thrilled to have his grandson working with him. They made several refinements to the machine, to include the extra seat and safety harness. They also installed an extra set of controls in case one went out. After each modification they would make a trial run. Never exceeding 24 hours in either the future or the past. Finally after many sleepless nights and a lot of trial and error they were finished, all that remained was one critical test. They needed to have the machine travel far back and return to the present in order to test all the new additions and modifications. Neither one of them was too comfortable in riding along for the test run so they devised a remote system. Neither adventurer could eat very much that night at supper. After the meal both hastily made their excuses and quickly retreated to the basement laboratory.

"Are you ready doctor?" asked Andy's grandfather, "I am" came the reply. "Are you, ready doctor?" came the return question from Andy. "I am" replied his grandfather. "Video camera on?" came the query. "Check!" was the reply. "Destination Set?" came the next query. "Check! destination Pearl Harbor" came the response. "Date and time set?" came the command. "Check! December 7th 1941 0400 hours" came the confirmation. "Auto return activated?" was the last command. "Auto return aye sir!" was the last reply. They both looked at each other and smiled as they reach for the remote control and pushed the button. Lights flashed dials whirred strange sounds came from the bowels of the machine, then it was gone. "Begin countdown, 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1!" All the sudden the machine reappeared. A definite smell of smoke and cordite was plainly evident. As they powered down the unit, Andy retrieved the tape from the camera and put it in the rewinder next to the video recorder. After rewinding the tape he pulled up two chairs and got ready to view whatever if anything that was on the tape. Finishing the power down his grandfather joined him in front of the TV. As Andy pressed the "PLAY" button, the events of Dec 7th,1941 unfolded before the pair. They sat amazed at the carnage and destruction. The loss of human life was tremendous. It was like a perfectly orchestrated movie. But it was real life they were viewing. Two hours later they both sat there speechless. Andy rewound the tape all the way this time. They watched themselves set the machine into motion. This would be their documentation. Before each adventure, a five minute oration would explain their intent and directions for the remote usage should something go wrong and they were unable to return on their own. Stopping the tape as the historical events started playing, Andy put a label on the tape and on the box containing the tape. These both he placed in a fireproof film vault they had purchased at a bankruptcy sale. It was the first one on the first shelf. There was room for over 200 tapes, 250 if they packed them in.

Weary yet excited, they turned everything off and climbed the stairs, they both were exhausted. As each of them lay on their beds, neither could sleep. Each had their own thoughts about how to use and where to go with their new and improved time machine. In Andy's mind, he saw all the Biblical stories he'd heard, read and been taught all his life. On the other hand his grandfather was thinking of old friends now that he could revisit. Also there were events in his life he would like to share with Andy. It was many minutes before either one of them finally succumbed to sleep, at least five anyway.

Andy's grandfather awoke at the crack of dawn, dressed, made his bed and quietly made his way downstairs to make some coffee. To his surprise, there was Andy digging into a plate of bacon and eggs. A large steaming mug of coffee sat next to his grandfather's plate. A smile came to his face as he looked up and saw his grandfather standing there with an amazed look on his face. "Well hello there sleepy head" said Andy. "Uh, yeah good morning to you too" replied the elder picking up the cup of coffee. "Hmmm, good coffee my boy" he said sipping the steaming liquid. "Thanks" "You're welcome" replied Andy as he crunched on a piece of crispy bacon. The two were lost in their own thoughts for the rest of the meal. Hardly another word was spoken.

As the pair stood before the machine, neither of them had yet to make a firm decision as to the destination and period of time. Andy had a few ideas he wanted to discuss. Under his arm he had his Bible, with several bookmarks inserted in the Old Testament but only one in the New Testament. When Andy's grandpa asked he about them, Andy handed him a neatly printed sheet with a description of each event. The time and place where it occurred were included. His grandfather sat down and read over the list, nodding and making notes in the margin. Then he handed it back to Andy and sat there with his hands folded in front of himself. Andy was afraid that he would not approve of his choices. Instead, the notes were additional details of description and events. He had agreed with each and every one of them! His final comment read, "Well what are we waiting for?" As Andy looked up his grandfather was smiling and held up his hands palms up. "Well" he said, "Are you ready or not?"

"Good morning professor" said the computer. "Good morning Andy" it added. It seems as though the elder man had done some additional programming that Andy didn't know about. But it thrilled him that his grandfather would include him also. "Are you ready to depart?" asked the machine. "Ready!" replied Andy's grandfather as he nodded to Andy to input the destination. "Place?" came the request. "Egypt" replied Andy. "Date" came the next request. "Unknown" replied Andy. "Event" was the next request. "Moses exodus from Egypt leading the children of Israel, next to the Red Sea" said Andy. "Accepted" came the confirmation, "Prepare to execute; 5,4,3,2,1, EXECUTE!" Andy pushed the button, the dials spun lights flashed and the room went dark. Then as the machine quieted down both of our adventurers noticed that it was dark all around them. But there was a definite glow over the horizon which emitted enough light for them to see. They powered down the craft and started to climb the sand dune. As they reached the crest, what a site they beheld. Camped in the valley below them next to a massive inland sea was camped the nation of Israel. But the most impressive sight was a giant pillar of fire. Andy remembered that God had placed the fire by night and clouds by day to the Irsaelites would have a sign of His presence. Andy motioned to his grandfather, to go back to the time machine. This they did as quickly as possible. When they arrived, they conferred with each other as to what they were going to do next.

Andy wanted to get closer, to see what was happening but knew they could not for fear of being seen. He expressed his disappointment to his grandfather. After he finished, his grandfather just laughed. Asking why he was laughing, Andy's grandfather asked him if he trusted him. "Yes! of course, why?" asked Andy. "Stand over there" he commanded indicating several feet away. "Count to ten and do something, don't tell me what you're going to do, but just do it." Andy stood back and watched while the older man powered up the machine. When he was ready, he nodded and Andy began counting, by the time he reached 8 the machine had disappeared. "9,10!" said Andy as he danced on one foot, patted his stomach and his head at the same time. He did this for about a minute, then he stopped and sat down. A few seconds later his grandfather appeared and shut down the machine. "Do you always dance on only one foot, and how do you pat your stomach and head at the same time?" Andy was amazed, "How did you know what I was doing? You didn't move the machine, but you saw everything?" "Yep!" came the reply, "I developed a sort of hover in time effect. I can hover in any period of time, can see but can't be seen." "Wow!" exclaimed Andy, "that means..." "Yep!" replied his grandfather, "it does... hop in!" He then showed Andy how to set the controls and the special switch he had installed. "Let's go!" said the elder. "Right on!" said Andy.

A few moments later they were hovering in time a few feet from a bearded robed man, standing there with a large staff in his hand. "I'll bet that's Moses!" said Andy. His grandfather nodded his head and motioned for Andy to listen to what was happening. "Moses!" said one man, "even now the pharaohs army approaches, did God lead us out of Egypt to die in the desert? We'd be better off to plead mercy and return to Egypt. At least there we had food and a roof over our heads." Moses simply shook his head "Ye of little faith! Has not our Lord provided our every need? Manna fell from the heavens, sweet clear water gushed forth from the very rocks at your feet! Even now he stands guard before the army" he said as he pointed to the column of fire with his staff. "How could you doubt his might?" There was more grumbling and complaining, finally Moses climbed high on a large rock and held his hand high. Silence was soon evident. "When the sun rises on the morrow return to this spot and be prepared to leave!"

Andy's grandfather made a small adjustment and the next scene was daylight. The whole nation of Israel was standing on the shores of the Red Sea. Moses again climbed the rock. "Behold the power of God!" commanded Moses as he raised both his arms towards the waters below him. Suddenly a great and mighty wind arose and the sea rolled back right down the middle. As the wall of water stood hundreds of feet high on either side, the tribal leaders led the children of Israel across the sea on dry land. For hours the people and all their possessions, cattle, sheep and other livestock all crossed over to the other side. Finally Moses himself crossed over.

All during this time Andy and his grandfather hovered in time. Going back and forth across the sea. Finally settling down on the floor of the sea which would be the deepest part. They estimated that the depth would be at least 200 feet. Suddenly they heard cries from the other side and they looked to where the people were pointing. They watched as the pillar of smoke dissolved and the army of the Pharaoh came charging down the embankment and started to cross just as they had done and were in fact still finishing the crossing. All the sudden the time machine shook and became visible and settled down on the sea floor. "Papa! What's happening?" yelled Andy, "we're visible and look here comes the Egyptians!" They both looked and saw the charging army getting closer and closer. "Andrew! move your feet!" commanded his grandfather. Andy in the excitement of the moment had hooked his foot in the power wire pulling it loose from its connection. Not only had he knocked it loose, but he also broke it in two. "Andy, grab the wires and hold them together, quickly son!" commanded his grandfather. But Andy wasn't listening, for all the Army was in the seabed now and he watched in horror as the waters started to close over the top of them. Andy was frozen, the approaching army was not yet aware of the impending danger. "Andy! Andy!" his grandfather yelled as he grabbed his arm, "Andy the wires!" Andy, finally saw what the problem was, and as he reached for the wires he could feel the rumble and hear the shout from the soldiers. The water was getting closer now too. As Andy grabbed the wires, he looked to where the Israelites had gone. That water was starting to close in now too. There was no escape for the Egyptians. There was no escape for them either. "Quickly son, quickly!" urged his grandfather. Andy jammed the two wires together and held on fast. "NOW!" he yelled. Andy's grandfather threw the switch. They could feel the salt spray on their faces as they disappeared. Hovering over the tops of the waves, they watched as the army of Egypt was destroyed. "Are you ready to go home now!" asked his grandfather. "Yes" said Andy still holding the two broken wires together.

"Ok Andy, you can let go now" said his grandfather, "we're home" "Thank God!" said Andy, "I have never been so scared in all my life. I thought we were going to drown like the Egyptians!" exclaimed Andy. Andy and his grandfather agreed whole heartily that they need to make some more modifications to protect the controls. "That's for sure" said Andy as he climbed out of the machine and put the video tape in the rewinder. With his back to his grandfather he said, "Papa, we weren't really in danger were we?" "You tell me!" he replied. As Andy turned around his grandfather was holding up a fish by the tail. "Sushi Anyone!"