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If Al was feeling very out of his depth in this leap, then Sam was almost drowning! He couldn't believe what was happening. He was home, but it wasn't home; he wasn't Sam, but someone named Nicholas. Sam had never heard of anyone called Nicholas working for Quantum Leap, yet he seemed to be well known and established. He wished Al would show up and tell him what was going on. Al surely would have told of any major new personnel at the Project, and he had never once mentioned someone named Nicholas.
That thought reminded him of the most important thing he had learnt in this leap, the one thing he was trying not to think about. Tina had told him that Al was dead! It couldn't be. He hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye, to say thank you. All that time he had been leaping and Al had always been there for him. Now he was just gone!
Just then Sam heard an even more familiar voice behind him.
'Hey Sam, how you doing?' asked Al.
'Al, you're here. Thank God.' He reached out to touch his friend.
'You're a hologram'.
'Yeah, as usual. I'm in the imaging chamber, remember? Your memory isn't that swiss-cheesed is it?' Al replied, concerned.
'No, no. I remember the imaging chamber and everything. It's just that... Oh, never mind. Al, where and when am I? Unless I really am losing my memory, I'd swear this was Project Quantum Leap'.
'Um, Sam, we'd better have a really serious long talk'.
In the men's room, their usual place for such talks, Sam got right down to business:
'OK, Al, tell me what's happening. I ...'
'Well, you're a 27 year-old man, Nicholas. He's a computer programme designer, a bit of a wizz-kid, with all scientific and technological things, not just computers. Your girl-friend, Lucy, also works here. And, oh, this will keep you amused. Lucy and Nick are trying to keep their relationship a secret from other people at work, because of policy. Hmm, lots of secret midnight liaisons. Great fun.' Al cheerfully rattled off all the usual information to help Sam on his leap, but there was a look in his eyes that Sam had seen once too often before. Something was wrong.
'And what else?', Sam asked, hoping to get to the truth this time.
'Well, Ziggy's not sure what you're here for yet'.
'And? Come on, Al, I know there's something else going on here. Like, why you haven't told me where I am, and why this place is so much like home? I know you know more than you're letting on, Al', Sam replied, pointedly, not wanting to tell Al about Tina and her news.
'Ok, ok. It's probably best that you know. You're probably the only one who can sort this whole mess out anyway. Sam, you are home. But the year is 2035.'
Sam let this sink in. 'Well', he whispered to himself, 'at least that explains one thing'.
'What's that, Sam?'
'I, er, I. I received some pretty, er, disturbing news when I first leaped in.'
'Oh', Al replied quizzically.
'Al, don't you think that no-one should know too much about their own future? I mean, we normally take so much care to protect the people in these leaps, not telling them anything about us, the project, their future. How am I supposed to act like Nicholas and do what I need to do to leap without learning anything about our future? Especially when I'm here. This is too much!'
'Tell me about it, pal. Now I know what our visitors feel like. Nicholas knows much more than we do. I guess this, us now, is history to him.'
'Al, what's the date where you are?'
'May 11th 2003'.
'He knew. He knew he was going to leap. That date's marked in his computer records. Someone must have recorded it after it happened. After all, this is turning out to be one pretty extraordinary leap. Into the future, and back at the project again. We really had better be very careful not to learn too much. This is our own future at stake! So much for my rules of Quantum Leap, though. This is the second time I've leaped outside of my lifetime. I wonder how that's happened?'
'Um, Sam, there's something else you should know about this leap. You remember how you managed to leap into your great-grandfather, well, I guess the same sort of thing's happened here. Nicholas' surname is Beckett. Sam, he's your son.'
'Oh, boy' replied Sam.