Dada, Chenoa, Julian, and I hurried to the white doors at the end of the hallway before I could get into any more trouble.

We leaned against them and sighed a breath of relief.

"Whew, that was way too close," Chenoa admitted.

I glanced at her and begged, "Please don't tell me you meant what you said back there. 'That's why I love him'!"

"Oh no, Dan. I just said that to get you out of trouble. You're really not supposed to be in there," Chenoa explained.

Next to her, Julian laughed. "Are you sure about that, Professor? I saw you blush."

And Chenoa blushed again. "Shut up, Julian! We're wasting time. We need to explain Dan's mission to him." She turned her back to Julian, Dada, and I and typed into another password keypad next to the doors. After another two minutes, the doors finally opened. Seriously, were all the passwords in the space center that long?

I felt Dada place his hand on my shoulder. "Welcome, Dan, to the control room," he said.

"Wow!" I squealed.

Like everything else in Downtown Greenville, the control room was high-tech. There were lines of desks that had keyboards with holographic screens over them, and a single enormous holographic screen was in the back. It had a diagram of the PPMC Project on it. The entire room had a tint of blue, giving it a very holographic feeling all around. I took in the scent of food and sweaty bodies. After all, there were a number of scientists in the control room. All of them stopped what they were doing when they saw me.

One scientist, a brown-headed man, leaned to a burgundy-haired woman and asked, "That's Daniel Matton? I didn't realize how young he was."

I tried to ignore them, but it was difficult. Maybe I was young, but I could do anything. That was the thought going through my head. Mother was there with me,–I felt her–so she calmed my nerves.

Chenoa took Julian, Dada, and I to the main holographic screen in the back. The room fell dead silent. It was almost too quiet.

Shivering, I asked Chenoa, "Well, Professor? What's my task?"

"Who? Your task? Oh, right." Chenoa shook out her head, gesturing at a chair that was next to the main computer. "Perhaps you should sit down, Dan. It's a bit of a long explanation."

"Oh, okay." My nerves tingled, but I sat down in the chair. "I mean, I don't know why a trip to the International Space Station requires a long explanation, but sure."

"Um, Dan, you're actually not going to the International Space Station," Chenoa corrected.

I just blinked, trying to take in the news, and asked, "What are you talking about? Doesn't all spacecraft go to the ISS?"

"Sure, but you see, Dan, PPMC is programmed a little bit differently," said Chenoa. She nodded at Julian, who accepted a black remote from one of the scientists in the room.

Dad stood over me and rested his hands on my shoulders. I think he could tell I was a little nervous.

Julian grinned at me. He opened his mouth and announced, "Dan the Man, you're going to go time traveling!"

"Time traveling?" Oh no, my hunch was right! Ms. Tyesha said that her husband went to 2022 and never returned. There was no way he could have gotten there without time travel.

"Please, Dan, your task is really not that hard," Chenoa said. She took the remote from Professor Julian and pressed its center button.

All of us peered up to the main computer.

The image of PPMC moved over to one side of the screen. Next to her, in the center of the screen, appeared an image of a celestial hole in space, but not just any hole. It was a black hole.

Chenoa pointed at the images and explained, "PPMC's built to travel through a black hole deep in the Milky Way galaxy. She will get you there through hyperspace. You simply need to let the black hole devour you. From there, PPMC will travel through a wormhole and then a white hole. Time travel will occur after you escape the white hole."

At first, I was oblivious. I placed my hands behind my neck and said, "Oh, okay. I can do that." Then the realization sank in. "Wait a minute! Did you say 'black hole'?"

"Uh, yeah," Chenoa said.

"I have to travel through a black hole?" I shouted.

"That's the only way to get to a wormhole," Chenoa explained.

"Huh?" Without warning, I fell out of my chair. I think I fainted a little. My head spun, and I yelled at Chenoa, "Are you insane, woman? I'll be spaghettified if I travel through a black hole!"

Chenoa quickly waved her hands at me. "No, you won't, Dan! That's the way PPMC's built! She can survive a supernova, so that means she'll have no trouble with a black hole!"

I had never been so scared in my life. I leaped to my feet and shouted, "You're mad, Professor! You're going to kill me! How can you be sure that wormholes even exist?"

Chenoa argued back. "They do, Dan! NASA discovered that three-hundred years ago! That's why we built PPMC! Your dad even added to the mission during his last voyage to the ISS. Dan, all you have to do is travel to the Precambrian Time, the Paleozoic Era, the Mesozoic Era, and the early Cenozoic Era." She pressed another button on the remote. That time, a picture of the geologic time scale appeared on the main computer. A smaller image of PPMC appeared at the end of it. She flew up the geologic time scale until she reached the Quaternary Period of the Cenozoic Era.

"With each time period, we would like you to study the environments, plants, and animals, and report your findings to us when you come back," Chenoa explained. "See? It's a very simple task. You get to take a trip up the geologic time scale."

In a sarcastic voice, I said, "Yeah, it's simple, but I'll be spaghettified before I even reach the Precambrian Time! Besides, even if I do survive, the ultraviolet rays of the Sun will fry me! So either way, I'm going to die!"

"Oh, Dan, you're taking this way too seriously." Chenoa waved her hand. "We wouldn't send you up if we thought PPMC had no chance of success. We're not sacrificing you to the geologic time scale. You're just going on an adventure. Professor Julian here made a special sunsuit for you to wear in the Precambrian Time."

Next to her, Professor Julian smiled and waved at me.

"As long as you wear the sunsuit, there's no chance the Sun will hurt you," said Chenoa. "Professor Julian's also loaded up PPMC for you, so all your food and luggage is ready. You just need a few more things to complete the ensemble."

I paid her no attention, since my mind was full of gruesome images of the black hole stretching out my arms and legs. Now I understood why Dada kept the PPMC Project a secret from me.

Chenoa lifted her index finger. "First and foremost is the PPMC Gauntlet."

"Gauntlet? What gauntlet?" My voice shook.

Professor Julian held a chest out to Professor Chenoa. She thanked him and opened it, reaching inside. From it, she pulled out a red gauntlet that had a screen in the center of it. The letters P-P-M-C were on it. There were three little buttons under the screen.

Professor Chenoa handed the device to me. "Dan, this gauntlet is very important. Do not lose it. It's connected to PPMC, so it has numerous tasks. She will tell you what time period you're in and warn you about incoming danger. She will also educate you about the different plants, animals, and environments you will encounter during your mission. You will always be able to call PPMC with it, just in case you find yourself in a sticky situation."

Professor Julian chimed in. "You'll also need this." He handed me a fancy, red pen that also had a few buttons on it. "This pen changes from a pen, pencil, and flashlight. And that's it! You're all set!"

My head. It burned. I clutched it with my free hand and asked, "Can you at least let me enjoy life until Christmas?"

"There's no time. We're running under a tight schedule," Chenoa snapped. "The ship is blasting off tomorrow morning at 10am, no exceptions!"

"But what if I don't want to do this?"

"Then hand back the gauntlet and pen," Chenoa said.

I refused, because I liked them too much. I pulled the gauntlet and pen away from Chenoa's hand. Even though I was horrified, I felt a slight pinch of excitement. I had to do the exploration, for Mother. She said she would come with me, and I believed her.

"You're not going to die, Dan," Chenoa added. "PPMC will keep you safe. We've dubbed her 'The Mother of All Spaceships'. She has a human mind, kid. Trust me. The space center needs you. This mission will help us get a better understanding of Earth's history. When we held a press conference here, we asked who would be the perfect candidate for PPMC's first mission. Your dad immediately recommended you. He told us, 'I can think of no better guinea pig than Dan'!"

My anger boiled inside me like lava. I glared at Dada. "You knew I would have to travel through a black hole, didn't you?"

Dada nodded. "Yes, I did, and I have to admit, I'm actually surprised I got you this far. Now it's only necessary to comply."

"But I'm gonna get spaghettified!" Who sent their seventeen-year-old kid into space, just so he could die traveling through a wormhole?

Julian interrupted my thoughts. "So, here's the plan, Dan. Professor Chenoa and I will meet you and your father in the lobby at 7:30am tomorrow. We will escort you to the White Room and help you into PPMC's cockpit. In case you're wondering, kid, P-P-M-C stands for the 'Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic Project'."

Argh, I knew it! What an idiot I was!

Now, to be honest here, I wasn't scared of the time traveling. I was scared of the black hole! Conflicting thoughts rushed through my brain after Professor Julian and Professor Chenoa gave me my mission.

"I know you're excited, Dan, but right now, you and your dad need to settle down for the night. You have a big day ahead of you. Professor Julian will escort you to your quarters," Chenoa explained.

Ha, ha, very funny, Chenoa. I am so excited! I've always wanted to travel through a black hole and face spaghettification. It's been on my bucket list ever since I was a child!

Professor Julian started back towards the double doors. I reached my hand into my coat pocket and felt around for Ms. Tyesha's handkerchief. For some reason, squeezing it comforted me.

Professor Julian turned back to Dada and me. He waited for us to join him.

Dada held his arm out to me. "Shall I escort you to your room, Dan the Man?"

I just scoffed and rolled my eyes.

***

Dada and mine's quarters were on the second story of the space center. We had our own dining room table, beds, library, living room, and TV. The dining room was the first thing someone saw when they entered the somewhat hotel-like room. Behind it was the living room and TV, and behind the living room was a huge glass window that overlooked Greenville Lake. Dad's room was to the left of the living room, and mine was to the right. Dad chose the room on the left because it was close to the library.

That night, the space center served us a delicious meal: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread, salad, and brownies for desert. For once, Dada and I ate together. However, I was in too bad of a mood to care.

I sat across from Dada and angrily chewed at my roast chicken and bread.

Dada tried to reassure me, or perhaps that was the beer talking. He had a few drinks at dinnertime to celebrate the PPMC Project. "Now, Dan, you need to make sure you eat everything on your plate, including the green beans," he told me. "You need a lot of energy to travel through a black hole."

Since when did Dada become Mother?

I huffed and tried to ignore him, but he kept prattling on.

"Send me a souvenir from the Mesozoic Era, all right? How about an Allosaurus tooth or the feather of an Archaeopteryx? What about an ancient rock from the Precambrian Time? Oh my goodness, Dan, you're going to have so much fun. I'm so proud of you!"

Dada's attitude was sickening. He was about to sacrifice his seventeen-year-old son to a black hole, and all he had to say for it was "I'm so proud of you"?

I threw down my silverware and shouted, "I'm going to bed!"

"Oh, okay," said Dad.

I got up from the table and stormed to my room. I opened my door, stepped inside, and slammed it shut.

My room was quite extravagant. Like the common room, it had a huge glass window that overlooked the lake. There was a circle of fancy, red chairs in it, as well as a holographic screen in the center that read Star of the PPMC Project. Compared to the rest of the room, my bed looked tiny. It was close to the window but not right up against it. The whistling of fireworks outside only made me angrier. I ordered for the blinds to shut.

"As you wish, Master," spoke a robotic voice.

Whoosh! No more fireworks.

I changed into my navy blue tank top and white pants and tossed my adventure uniform onto one of the chairs. I kept Ms. Tyesha's handkerchief in my coat pocket so I wouldn't lose it. Then, I collapsed onto my bed's silky covers. Sweat trickled down my face. "I hate you, Dada! You should know that it's impossible to survive a black hole!" I shouted. "Why can't you do this stupid space exploration yourself? This bites! I'm only seventeen! What if everything Chenoa said is wrong?"

Don't cry, Dan. You need to be a man, not a boy.

But it was difficult. Not only was I traumatized, I also did not feel like myself. Perhaps it was the thought of spaghettification that caused the queasiness, but no. Ever since I came back from the library, I started to feel sick. Like what happened earlier, I had a sudden coughing fit.

I sat up in bed and clutched my chest. I swear, I better not be getting sick!

The fit lasted for a good while. By the time it ended, I was drooling so much that I soaked my tank top. See what you've done, Dada? Dan Matton is now extinct thanks to you.

Falling back onto my pillows, I hugged one of them close to my chest. I sobbed until I fell asleep.

Night, night, Dan. The nightmares are waiting. My own dreams shall spaghettify me for the rest of eternity. Night, night, Dan.