CHAPTER 39
Soon after dawn the next morning (we left a little later than planned, as almost always happens when large groups travel together), our team boarded the Zephyr, ready for action. Albert entered 1885 as the year and Kinshasa, Congo, as the destination.
Likewise, Warble and Ward and their team seated themselves in the Fast Forward & Back and entered the same time and space coordinates as Albert had.
All of us waved goodbye to Mary and Sojourner. They watched us ascend straight up. Mary blew her husband a kiss. Warble (who, in previous times would have considered that public display of affection silly and corny and embarrassing) smiled and even returned the gesture.
Our two vehicles came to a stop after reaching 1,000 feet of altitude (similar to an elevator when it reaches its destination), remained suspended in space for approximately one second, then — Whoosh! Suddenly we were off, quickly picking up speed en route to our rendezvous with the past.
Cruising at our customary Methusaleh speed of 969 mph, the trip following the equator from the eastern to the western edge of Africa only took us about an hour and a half.
On landing, the two teams wasted no time on small talk or sightseeing or anything else. We wanted to get down to business right away, do what needed to be done, and then go back home to 2525 after accomplishing our good deed for the 19th century.
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