Adam and I went on for days trying to figure out how to fix the time machine. The water seemed to have done a significant amount of damage to the circuitry. I was never much of an engineer, so these repairs were beyond my knowledge. It was apparent to me that we would probably never get this machine fixed, not in my lifetime anyway. Unless we could somehow contact the Magura and get their help, but I had asked Adam about this yesterday and he hadn’t known of a communication system that could be used for anything but contacting Earth.
We spent most of our time in the facility; Adam had decided it was safest to not show that there was another human here. We weren’t sure how far away the Eyelans had gotten, and it was best that they don’t come back.
There was a daily ritual of watching classic movies and of Adam asking questions about the basics of human emotion. Most of his questions were easy to answer, but upon watching “What Dreams May Come”, he had so many questions about the afterlife. This spawned an almost all day discussion about religions and the spiritual side of life. I wasn’t surprised to find that Adam could not fathom the things we fought about in the history of mankind.
This routine went on for five days until I was finally worn out of working on the time machine.
“Noomi, there’s something I’d like to show you.”
“Okay Adam.”
I followed him into the main room, but stopped when he started climbing the stairs to go outside.
“Adam, are you sure about this?”
“No, but what’s life worth if you’re always sure?”
He took me up to the surface and led me to the small lake near the facility.
“Isn’t it beautiful!”
“Adam, it’s a lake…”
“Yes, but I find water to be so… perfect.”
“Adam, can you swim?”
“My system is fully encased in a water proof material, but I don’t think I know how to swim. I technically don’t need to breathe, so it would be okay for me to almost drown.”
He laughed at himself, and began to undress. I followed suit and stripped to my underwear. I hadn’t gone swimming since I was a kid, but it’s one of those things you don’t forget.
I plunged deep into the water and popped my head up through the surface.
“Come on in Adam, the water is warm!”
“I’m nervous, Noomi. What if I can’t do it?”
“Adam, it’s easy. You’ll be fine! If you can build time machines, you can certainly swim!”
He hesitated for a moment, but I saw the expression in his face set. He took a few steps forward and jumped elegantly into the river. He floated to the top of the water next to me and spit out a significant amount of water.
“I forgot you’re not supposed to breathe underwater.”
Adam coughed for a little bit and then started to experiment with floating on his back, and dolphin-diving into the water. It really was amazing to watch him learn, he was far more interesting than a child. He had all the bewildered looks of a child, but the brain of an old soul. I relaxed a bit, and floated over to the bank of the water and sat in the sand, while Adam continued to emulate a dolphin. He could stay under water for such a long time. I almost panicked and jumped in after him twice.
The sun rose and fell quickly around us, and before I knew it, it was dark. Adam had been having so much fun, although I don’t know if he understands the concept of fun. I pulled myself out of the water and went to my clothes. Adam noticed me getting out of the water and climbed out as well.
We walked back to the facility in a state of euphoria. Once we were downstairs I told Adam I was exhausted and went to the sleep room. I climbed into bed wearing an old t-shirt of Dr. Matthews, as my clothes were soaked from swimming. That night, my nightmares subsided and my dreams were only filled with Adam’s face.
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