Jim decided to try the power button. He aimed the remote where Sharon had been standing and pressed it. There was a brilliant flash, then a fuzzy image of Sharon appeared on the spot. The image "rolled" a couple of times, before solidifying into his girlfriend.
Sharon looked around the room a couple of times in obvious shock. Jim looked around too. Everything looked like it should. Maybe he had imagined the changes to his surroundings. "What the hell happened?" Sharon asked.
"I don't know how to explain it," Jim told her. "You 'blinked' out?"
"Blinked out?"
"Yeah," Jim explained. "You know. Like a television picture. One minute you were there. The next you were gone. This did it." He held up the remote. "I'd say you were lucky that it was able to bring you back."
"Well, get rid of that thing," Sharon said. "It's too dangerous to have around."
"I guess so," Jim agreed, pointing it at the television. "I mean, it doesn't even work on the T.V." To prove his point, he pressed the power button.
And was surprised to hear it come on. Both of them turned to look. The screen was blank except for four words in big white letters:
SUBJECT ENCODED SELECT CHANNEL
"What does that mean?" Sharon wondered out loud. "Subject encoded?"
"I don't know," Jim answered, walking closer to the television. Sharon stay where she was. "I guess we'll have to pick a channel to find out."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Jim," Sharon said nervously.
"Calm down," Jim assured her. "It'll be alright." He pointed the remote at the television and punched in a channel number.
In seconds a program appeared on the screen. It was...
Mon Apr 17 18:56:00 2000
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