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Onward, upward, Everyone!

"Look, it's apparent you can understand what's being said here," Dr. Berman said to the youth from the time capsule.

The boy from Earth's past held a bandage at his left arm where his intravenous line had previously existed. Shirtless, he sat quietly wrapped in the warming blanket that Elliot had provided the night before.

"Who are you?" Dr. Berman asked.

The boy stared at the long, metal table upon which he sat. A mild enclosure to its perimeter pressed into the back of his thighs, his legs hanging over its edge. He felt dizzy, as if staring off a windy cliff, and reached out to steady himself. The table's surface was cold, like a forgotten, frozen memory. He drew his finger against the smooth metal. Visually, he followed the table's length and incline to its recess and drain at the other end.

"What is your name?" Dr. Berman pressed.

The young stranger studied his immediate surrounding. Besides the exam table, the modest room contained a desk and chair, metal cabinetry and a black countertop that ran waist-high along the periphery of the walls...

The boy halted his visual survey.

There were pictures.

The boy squinted and adjusted his posture to view them better. They were charts of people, and of animals. Ghastly illustrations of different body parts.

"We're not here to hurt you," Elliot said, pausing to swallow. "We only want to help you."

The boy next looked to the doorway, the only exit to the room. Adjacent to it was a large observation window, the same viewing glass through which he had first observed his captors. The boy glanced up. Above him was a large, circular lighting fixture. Although the light was not on, the strange boy was clearly in the spotlight.

Dr. Berman paced back and forth, his anxiety only punctuating his obsessive-compulsive nature.

"What is this place?" the boy suddenly spoke.

"A-ha, so you do understand us!" Dr. Berman accosted as he stepped closer. "Different accent, but you speak the language. What is your name?"

The boy sat quietly.

"Did you hear me? What is your name?"

"I don't know you, Sir," the boy replied. "I shouldn't speak to strangers."

The doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Hello," the younger scientist in the room spoke up. "My name is Elliot. This is my mentor, Dr. Berman."

The boy glanced between his two captors. "My name is, uh, ... Alessandro," he said carefully.

"Alessandro," Elliot repeated. "Welcome, you are among f-friends."

The boy stared.

"God's peace to you," he responded.

Elliot looked at Dr. Berman awkwardly. "Uh, yeah," the younger scientist replied. "Peace to you, too."

Dr. Berman frowned. "Where are you from, 'Ali-san-dro?' "

The mispronunciation of the boy's name stuck out like a sore thumb.

"I want to go home," Alessandro stated.

"Where is that? Where did you live?" Dr. Berman probed.

"I live in Prairie Hills, Sir."

"Prairie Hills?" Dr. Berman scoffed. "Where is that? Never heard of it."

The boy squinted through one eye.

"Where is Prairie Hills, Alessandro?" Elliot asked.

"Why, it's in Kansas, Sir."

"Kansas? I'm sorry. I'm afraid you're not in Kansas anymore."

"Where am I?"

"You're in a northeast colony called Renderton," Elliot answered.

Alessandro's eyes narrowed. "May I go home now?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"Why not? I want to go home."

"Prairie Hills doesn't exist anymore," Dr. Berman said.

The boy's face was perplexed.

"Well, you see," Elliot interjected, "you're from the Earth's past. You were found comatose in a time capsule. Dr. Berman and I brought you out of your sleep."

The young stranger froze, lost in a whirlwind of memories from long ago. "A time capsule?"

"Yes," Dr. Berman replied. "Do you recall the year from when you used to live?"

"The year?"

"Yes," Dr. Berman answered. "What year was it?"

"The year is 1985," the boy stranger replied.

Doctor and apprentice looked at each other with wonder. As far as the two scientists knew, the year was now 139.

"1985 was over a century ago, before the nuclear holocaust."

"Holocaust, Sir?"

"Yes, it destroyed the entire planet," Dr. Berman affirmed. "An apocalypse. 'World War III,' as it was."

The boy was speechless.

"Thankfully, though, the human race very much still survives," Elliot added.

The boy searched for answers in the two men's faces. He turned to Elliot. "Did you save me, Sir?"

Elliot froze. "S-save you?"

"Are you one of God's angels?"

Elliot became wide-eyed. He glanced at the Professor. "N-no, I'm not."

The boy's posture deflated.

"But, ehm, maybe I can show you where we're at," Elliot proposed. He pulled out a flat electronic and held it in the palm of his hand. Above the device, a small green hologram of the Earth projected upward into open space. Elliot manipulated the image with flicks of his fingers to produce a close-up of the land mass. A pulsating blue dot, along with depicted longitude and latitude, indicated their exact location.

"See? This is where we are," Elliot showed on the global visual. "Renderton."

Alessandro's face was filled with awe. "Surely, you are a wizard, Sir!"

"N-no, I am not."

The hologram reverted back to that of the Earth.

Alessandro tried to touch it, but instead placed his hand through the projected sphere, spinning it accidentally. He gasped.

"Are we in Oz? Somewhere over the rainbow?"

"No, I don't believe so."

"In Narnia?"

"No."

"Wonderland?"

"No," Elliot smiled, amused at the boy's disbelief. "I'm sorry."

"What kind of place is this, Sir?" the boy asked, looking about the room again.

"You are in a science and research facility," Dr. Berman said.

The boy noted microscopes and a weight scale to one side of the countertop. Various test tubes, glass beakers and flasks were also situated throughout the room.

"You're in one of our labs," Elliot said.

The young teen was thoughtful. "I don't understand. There was a nuclear war? How did I get here?"

"You survived the holocaust because you were placed in a time capsule," Dr. Berman explained. "Don't you recall any of that?"

"I, uh... " Alessandro paused, then he glanced at his two captors. "No, I-I don't."

Dr. Berman raised an eyebrow.

The boy closed his eyes and tightened his lips.

Dr. Berman frowned. "Don't remember, or don't want to tell us?"

The boy was quiet.

"What were you doing in a time capsule?" Dr. Berman asked again.

"I don't know why I was sent here," the boy said in a soft voice, looking down.

"Sent here?" Dr. Berman repeated. "Who sent you here?"

Alessandro immediately looked elsewhere, as if to hide his thoughts. "I, uh, I don't know. I can't remember... "

"That's not true," Dr. Berman sharply cut in. "You do remember! Why were you sent here?"

"I don't know!" the boy quickly deflected. "I don't remember anything!"

"Hey, hey," Elliot stepped in quickly. He glanced at his docent, then quickly pivoted toward the cowering boy. "Don't worry, Alessandro. You're s-safe," he stuttered, "you're safe now."

Elliot bit his lip. He looked again at Dr. Berman, then back at the young teen.

"Y-you've had quite a journey. Y-you probably need more time to recover. If I had just woken from a century-long coma, I'm sure I wouldn't remember anything either."

But Alessandro was already staring off into space, his face haunted, remembering something vague from his distant past...