Dying Roman Catholic Priest, Father Dax Boyier is literally “dying” to find his replacement. Father Boyier, the second caretaker approaches a nameless protestant minister and begins his recruitment “pitch” by telling him the story of how the first caretaker came to the job. The tale begins in the high summer of 1911 in the Village of Pleasant Falls Vermont, when an enigmatic scientist, calling himself “Professor B” approaches the Reverend Luther F. Alewine, a struggling, recently ordained minister, who harbors some unconventional ideas concerning the scriptures. “B” has constructed a machine he calls a temporal transporter, capable of traveling through time and space.
He proposes a pooling of skills and resources for a voyage 2000 years back in time to save the Christian Redeemer from crucifixion. “B” invites the skeptical Alewine to his laboratory for a transporter demonstration. When Alewine arrives with assistant Deacon Matthias Archway, they meet Alewine’s old Spanish American War Commander, Brigadier General Percival Parthington. “B” and Alewine then take a jaunt 24 hours into the past where they witness their own first meeting. The Brigadier, Reverend Alewine and Deacon Archway depart for Judea and Jerusalem in the early morning hours of 7 July, powered by the electromagnetic energy of a terrific thunderstorm. In the City of David they encounter a cast of characters, some known from the bible, others not, but even familiar personalities reveal unsuspected character twists and surprises. There is treasure, betrayal and even death from unanticipated quarters. The surprising results of the rescue attempt and its aftermath reverberate from the time of Christ to the present day.
Staarbaads Universe 