Chapter 2
Doc tells his story:
Thursday, October 4, 1956.
On the outskirts of Rome, Italy
9:00 a.m.
DOC was busy exploring an abandoned catacomb that he and some archeologists dug out the other day. Using his flashlight, he searched around for religious relics knowing that the early Christians used them for hiding from the Roman Emperors and their army. Surprisingly, he discovered none. Then, a spot on the wall caught his eye. It didn't look like a wall at all but a partition sealing up a door. A door complete with a door frame. And there were letterings on it. It didn't look Roman
at all but the letters said "ELB". Doc remembered when Marty had came back from the future and the discovery of the time machine in the Delgado mines adjacent to the abandoned Boot Hill Cementary. It was hidden behind a boarded up doorway that also had the inscription "ELB". Can it be... said Doc to himself, ...that Marty had succeeded in saving me from Buford Tannen and taken me back to 1985? And that I've gone back in time again only to be stranded further in the past? He remembered telling Marty about his adoration of the works of Jules Verne and that his initials came from one of his novels Journey to the Center of the Earth. The answer lay behind the partition. That night, he got a pick and shovel, and knocked the partition down. There it was, the time machine. It was covered and seem well preserved. He uncovered it. Looking at the car he realized that it needed a paint job. Opening the door, he looked in. The upholstry seemed cracked and dusty. Doc looked at the dashboard, the circuits were there. Little aged but there. On top of it was an evelope. Doc reached in a picked it up. Opening the package, he discovered two letters, a map, schematics, and some ancient Roman coins. The letters, one was to himself and the other was for Marty. Using the flashlight, Doc read his letter.
Dear Dr. Brown:
This is a letter written by your future self.
I am writing this letter to inform you that I am trapped here
in the year 44 BC and am asking you to restore the time
machine and go back to the future to tell Marty what has
happened. I have hidden the Delorean in here knowing that
not even the Christians would be using it, and that it would
be unknown and forgotten to all until you discover it in
1956. Enclosed are the letters for you and Marty, a Map of
ancient Rome, schematics for part replacements if there any
circuits needed to be replaced, and Roman coins that are
worth millions in 1956. Enough for you to not only get the
components neccessary to replace any old and defective
parts, but to restore the DeLorean to mint condition. Once
the time circuits and the internal combustion are restored
and gas put in the gas tank, be sure to load Mr. Fusion
before you go. It now uses manure imported from
America instead of recycled garbage. Attached to this letter
are the dates in the future to go to in order for the car to be
restored. Once all of this is done, proceed at once to May 4,
1986 9:00 a.m. to find Marty. The time circuits now feature a
"Destination Location" and an "AD-BC" indicator recently
installed. So make sure the Destination Location reads "Hill
Valley, California." And the "AD-BC" indicator reads
"AD". I wish you luck in finding Marty
Your future self
Doctor Emmett L. Brown
March 14, 44 B.C.
March 14, 44 B.C.? Doc asked himself, There's something very familiar about that date. He went out of the catacomb and into the camp. The men were asleep. Doc picked up one of the books concerning Roman history. Thumbing through the pages Doc came across the year 44 B.C. It didn't say March 14, 44 B.C. but it did read the next day, March 15-the Ides of March. On that date Julius Caesar was murdered. Great Scott! Doc said to himself, Apparently, I might be framed for his death. Hence all of this. Doc snuck the tow truck into the catacomb to recover the DeLorean.
Friday, October 5, 1956
12:00 pm
On the outskirts of Rome, Italy.
Doc hid the DeLorean in his tent which was the biggest one in the camp being that he had all that equipment. At lunchbreak, he took Copernicus into Rome with the Roman coins he found in the digging. He told the men none of this. Arriving at the National Museum of Ancient Art (known as Palazzo Corsini). He showed the coins to the curator who was impressed over the fact that it was so preseved. Doc recieved a large sum of money. Over a million dollars worth when he took International Exchange office. He saved the rest of the Italian money to buy some components, necessary enough to replace the ancient circuits that were in the time machine. Then, he went to buy some imported American manure. That night, after a hard day's work, the men were sleeping while Doc stayed awake fixing the time circuits. After a while Doc studied the dates his future self wanted him to go first. 3986 and 2016. And addresses to take the DeLorean too to get it restored. As dawn approached, Doc set the time circuits for 3986 and the destination location for Hill Valley, loaded the fusion generator, put some gas in the gas tank, called Copernicus and drove off.
Friday, October 6, 3986
Hill Valley, California
8:00 a.m.
The next thing Doc saw was a city that he only imagined in those sci-fi magazines he read. So this is the future he said to himself. He looked at the first address and drove the car there. It was suppose to be one of those body repair and refurbish shops but was a far cry from those garages or bike shops. It looked more like a showroom. Doc entered. There was a colored man that greeted him. He looked familiar to Doc. "Goldie Wilson?" he asked. "Yes sir." said Goldie, "Goldie Wilson the 86th." "Eight sixth?" Doc exclaimed. "Yes sir." was the response, "Named after my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. Goldie Wilson the first." Goldie indicated a picture of his ancestor on the wall. Underneath it the inscription MAYOR OF HILL VALLEY 1982-1990. Great Scott Doc said to himself, Hill Valley's going to have a colored mayor in the future. Then, he said to himself Incredible. Then, changing the subject, Doc asked "Can you refurbish my car?" "Bring it in." said Goldie. Taking Copernicus out of the DeLorean, Doc wheeled it in. Goldie looked at it. "A DeLorean." he said. "Uh-yes." said Doc, "Of course." "Those things haven't been manufactured in two-thousand years." commented Goldie. "Can you refurbish it?" asked Doc. "This is the 40th century. Isn't it?" said Goldie. "I could fix it. But it'll cost you $1,088,083.99." "$1,088,083.99?" exclaimed Doc. "Yes sir." said Goldie, "And that includes the labor." Then, Doc remembered the money he got from the museum back in 1956. If there was a reason why his 1986 self gave him those coins, there was the reason. "Okay." said Doc, "I'll be back then." Doc and Copernicus went out for a walk.
Doc had an opportunity to see how Hill Valley would look in the future. As he left Goldie's place, he saw a large screen of him saying "Do you remember your history lessons when they talked about the automobile? And now heres your chance to relive it. Bring in the car that has been in your family for generations, the Rolls-Royce, the Capri, the Mustang, even that Studabaker and I'll refurbish it for only $1,088,083.99! Just come see me. Goldie Wilson the 86th. And it'll be good as the first day that it was bought. That's me! Goldie Wilson the 86th." "Incredible." said Doc. He turned to walk down the street. He came up to where the Statler Motors would have been in 1956 only see a STATLER SPACE SCOOTERS sign being posted over the showroom window. Another trip down the street brought him in front of the courthouse. In the distance he could see the clocktower. After 2031 years, the hands on the clock still read 10:04-the moment the lightening struck it. As Doc stared at it, someone came up to him and said "Hey Mister, give me a million bucks to save the clock tower." Doc turned to him saying "Not now." "Com'on." said the man, "That's an ancient historical monument. Over two thousand years ago, lightening struck the thing and it hasn't rung since." "I said not now." said Doc as he turned to where Lou's Cafe would be. But the sign read 20th CENTURY CAFE. Doc entered. Inside music was perform. It was music he never heard before. It went like this:
Stayin' Alive
Stayin' Alive
And it went on and on like that. Looking around, Doc noticed some 20th century memorabilia. The Sopwith Camel and the Crystal Radio was displayed. But there was some memorabilia that he didn't recognize but it look 20th century to him. Doc went to the counter. As he did, a box appeared. It was like a TV screen but in color. There was a picture of a man. It was the picture of Vice President Richard Nixon. "Welcome to the 20th Century Cafe." said a voice from the box, "A place where there's always morning in America. Even in the after-noon-noon-noon. Today's Special:
Mesquite Grilled Sushi, Cajun Style." Then the face of a much older man-like a Sam Ervin-burst onto the screen saying "You must try our hot chili special" Then, there was gibberish. Doc couldn't make heads or tails of what they were saying so he said "Never mind. I'll go eat somewhere else." He took Copernicus and left the cafe. The next stop was where the Essex was to be in 1956. As he did, he noticed the Texaco gas station. But this too had advanced in technology. There was a huge robot and a voice saying "You could trust your space-car to the alien with the star. Texaco rocket fuel. Texaco..." Then, a noise was heard from behind. Doc turned to see an alien space ship landing on the street. Doc appoached, but the ship evaporate in thin air. Doc turned to see that the Essex was now the Holo-Max. On the marquee was the name "Close Encounters or a Third Kind-The Return." Doc approached the theatre and read a poster pertaining to the movie. It read "Produced and Directed by Mike Spielberg." "Great scott!" Doc said.
At the end of the half-hour Doc returned to get the DeLorean. It was as good as new again. Inside and out. Doc was flabbergasted. "Thank you." he said. He paid Goldie and left.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Hill Valley, California
8:00 a.m.
The next place Doc went to was the Hill Valley of 2016. Using the address for the shop for the hover conversion Doc drove over there. It was the same place as the refurbishing shop would be in 3986. Except the sign read "Wilson Hover Conversion". Doc went in. "Can I help you?" ask someone. That someone was Goldie Wilson. "Goldie Wilson?" asked Doc. "Yessir." said Goldie, "Goldie Wilson III." "Goldie Wilson III." repeated Doc. Changing the subject, Doc said "I would like you to hover convert my car." "Well." said Goldie, "Bring it in." Doc did. "How much will it be?" he ask. "$35,999.99." was the answer. "$35.999.99?" he exclaimed. He looked at his money. It was still enough. "It's a deal." said Doc. "It'll be done in a half an hour." After that, Doc brought the DeLorean in and took Copernicus for another walk.
For the next half hour, Doc had a good look at 2016 Hill Valley. It was less futuristic that the 3986 one but it was futuristic nonetheless. The 20th Century Cafe was now the Cafe 80's. Going inside, he looked around. The bulk of the 20th century memorabilia except for the ones he didn't recognize yet. And a song was ringing "Beat-it, beat-it." over the loudspeakers. Going to the same counter that he went to in the 40th century he encountered the same box. Only, it had the picture of Ronald Reagan, the actor. He looked immensly older in the picture-like 70ish. And he was saying "Hello, welcome Cafe 80's. Where it's always morning in America-even in the aftern-o-o-n. Our special for today is Mesquite Grilled Sushi, Cajun Style." Then, another man, looking like an Iranian came in the picture saying "You must try our hot chili special." Then, it became gibberish after that. So, Doc decided to take Copernicus and leave. He went over to the Texaco station. It had the same robot as before. But, a voice was saying "You could trust your car with the centair with the star..." He listening was interrupted by a voice saying "Hey mister. Give me a hundred bucks to save the clocktower." Doc turned to see who it was. It was an old man but he looked familiar. "Terry?" asked Doc. "Yeah." said Terry, "That's my name." Doc remembered him from 1956 when he was in the auto detailing business. But now, he's collecting money to repair the clock tower. Knowing that the clock tower wasn't repaired in 3986, he said "No thank." "But," said Terry, "that's a historical monument. Lightening struck that thing sixty-one years ago. It hasn't rung since." "Some other time." said Doc as he took Copernicus and started back to the shop.
Doc picked up his car, paid Goldie and left. Doc looked at the letter intended for Marty. On the outside it read "To be delivered to Marty on May 4, 1986." Setting the time circuits for that date, Doc kicked the car up to 88 miles per hour. The DeLorean disappeared in a brilliant flash of light leaving behind a pair of fire trails.
End of Chapter 2