Time stopped as the Oragami Drive took hold of the ship, as though the universe had taken a deep breath and held it. The crew was frozen in their previously assumed positions,
stark terror emphasized on more than one face. Reed's hand seemed to rest on air several inches above the yellow light of the control panel, as Egan stood by in dread. Schultz's finger remained frozen
on his com-link, being caught mid sentence in his explanation to the bewildered engineering officer. VanTedly, at his side, was caught in the act of scratching himself in a most unbecoming region, a look
of deep satisfaction etched upon his face. Lt. Scott and Anda had looked helplessly at each other in the final moments before the activation of the Origami Drive, and now seemed lost in a perpetual, perhaps
infinite, staring contest. Lt. Schraeder, Mr. Proteau, and Sgt. Stauch were suspended in various complimentary active poses.
And then the universe exhaled...
Reed's hand came down hard on the yellow button, but the light had curiously faded from the yellow beacon before contact was made. Schultz continued his explanation to Jeffy, unaware of the violent transition
that had taken place.
"...ut the damn thing down, Mr. Jeffy!"
There was a pause before any reply came.
"The Origami Drive is not active, Mr. Schultz" ,Jeffy explained, his tone thick with confusion.
Lt. Scott and Anda let their gazes fall to their instumentaion panel, Anda's newly acquired brow furrowing in unison with Number Two's. VanTedly continued his previous endeavor with vigor. Reed looked around the
bridge, unable to explain what had transpired, but relieved nonetheless that the Origami Drive had ceased its activity. He stood erect, straightening his uniform.
"Sorry people", he remarked sheepishly, "I guess it was a false alarm."He turned to Egan.
"Doctor...", he began.
"Uh, sir", Lt. Scott interrupted quietly.
"In a moment, Number Two."
"This is quite pressing", the lieutenant suggested earnestly.
Reed took anther disgusted look at Egan before moving toward the communications officer. "What is it?!?"
"The readings, sir", Number Two replied.
"What about them?"
The young lieutenant looked up from his charts, meeting the gaze of his commander. "There aren't any."
Reed stepped forward to look for himself. He noted that the system registered nothing but a flat line where, regularly, the ship would be receiving an overwhelming array of information from innumerable sources
this close to Earth.
"Could be an instrumental problem", he offered, punching several buttons. The schematic changed from the
severely technical Passive Sonar, to the more mundane O.E. (Old Earth) Radar system. He
watched the screen as a green line circled from its midpoint. When nothing registered for several revolutions, he looked back at Number Two.
"Run a systems check."
Lt. Scott nodded. "I already have, sir."
Before the commander could reply, Mr. Schultz spoke up in his irritably calm manner.
"Commander, you may want to see this."
Reed felt the familiar caress of dread slide icily down his back. He moved around the console to peer over the science officer's shoulder. He stared into the screen, which displayed the galaxy before
them like a blueprint to the stars. Everything seemed to be in the right place, and it was refreshing to be within their own solar system again, yet something pulled at the commander's mind.
"Something's wrong, Schultz", he observed, "what is it?"
Schultz took a deep breath. "We are in your solar system", he admitted, "yet the ambiant planetary temperatures are, how do you Earthlings say, 'out of whack'."
Reed nodded thoughtfully. "Explain."
"Well", Schultz went on, "let's take your planet for example. It's thermo-bolic rate is 4215.7 give or take, but the planet that I'm scanning now is 4107.8 T.R."
"So you're saying", Reed suggested, 'that our home planets rate of thermo-bolic propensity has changed .108 giga-brammers since we departed seven months ago."
Schultz shook his head. "Commander, if that type of change were to occur in such a small time frame, all life on that planet would be extinguished."
Reed looked shocked. "So we're returning to a dead planet, Mr. Schultz?!?"
"No, sir", Schultz replied, "the life form readings are quite numerous."
Reed was tired of their current Q&A session.
"What are you saying, Mr. Schultz, that this isn't Earth?"
Again Schultz shook his head. "Commander, that is Earth", he replied, "but it's not the same Earth we left."
