The Time Harvester by D.A.Sanford - HTML preview

Our possessions are safe

Now that the actual construction is under way, we had a large bank vault safe built into the business building. I have to protect my in process project files and other documents. This was actually recommended by Martha. She made a good point.

“Having certain items in your home makes it too tempting. Your home renovations and land improvements show money. You being a successful inventor says that you have things worth stealing.”

Now the business building has had all but one store front bricked up. All the security has been installed. Even though there are the inside renovations that are still being completed. All the carriage house items have been transferred to the vault.

I must say that I am impressed at its construction. Armor grade harden steel incased in cement and then again more steel. The door is exactly like a bank vault with the exception of one of Emmily’s future devices. A DNA scanner. Only the four of us are able to open it.

There are sensors on all walls, floors and ceiling that can detect the vibration. Anything that gets by the shock mounts for the vault will cause an alert. If we determine that it is an attempted break in. Well, let’s just say that we do have some nasty tricks for them.

We no longer have any worry that went along with having the things left in the carriage house. Shela and I can now sleep soundly.

As far as the Renault, surprisingly, the Boss has a collection of items that he has acquired from the Titanic. He was very pleased to find out that the 1912 Renault he saw when he visited our place to clean up a mess, was in fact the one from the Titanic. He needed it and he bought it for a hansom price.

He never asks how but he does know his Titanic. He also knows that you don’t ask questions. I’m sure he was pleasantly amused when he found William E. Carter’s family personal items in the trunk of the car. Those were a bonus for his generous treatment.

Funny thing is, he drives it. He tells everyone that he commissioned a replica be built right down to the proper serial numbers and license plates. Naturally the trunk now only has what would have been in there.

All of us just smile. If he is happy, we are satisfied. Not because of his occupation but because we know that he pays well.

The house is now done. The invention factory is now up and running, Martha has offices here for the accounting and legal advice. Carmine is my tenant. He has moved his store to the bigger location and has had to hire a person to help him because of his need to search out finds. He now is becoming famous for being able to find numismatic requests.

Aside from the very lucrative after hours financial searches, I now am back to my passion, inventing. Now I have to work on that first contract. With what happened at the carriage house, I work on an improved security system. I work on some things that Emmily had from the future. There is something that I think would work.

Given the basic information, I did a very thorough search and found nothing so I started my first patent application ubder the new business.. Called Intruder passive restraint devise. My group was very pleased when the patent office sent the official paper work approving my application.

No surprise that we actually started to receive orders for the device from the government. Very good money. Other secret facilities were requesting it. Soon I had a factory opened just to build that device. Naturally we use it to protect the factory and all the properties that we each own. Both as a business and individually.

I do have two other partners in that factory. They are now really good friends so Shela and I figured that we needed them in on this. Both Martha and Carmine wanted in on it. The profit will help us for the next venture.

We meet in the conference room at the factory. Since they are partners, it is the place for us to meet. We do not hide the fact that they are our friends. Frequently we have them over to the house and heck, one does my books and the other has a thriving business in my store front.

Now we discuss what requests we have received. What ideas for retrievals. We all are in the habit of looking for lost items that our clients would love to have. There is plenty to retrieve. We have to watch out on the firearms but as long as the public sales are confined to before 1899. Before 1899, firearms are considered antique and not regulated.

Wild west and Civil war are the most popular. We open a web site, that is Shela’s specialty, for the sale of them. We get a request and we find them. All are sold in as is condition. Feed back is always in the five star. We do confine our retrieval to lesser known battles and little known bandits.

I now have found that I can ask the box if what is see is owned by someone in this era. We only harvest those items that come back as lost to history. Now, with the exception of some special customers, we deal in only those items that come back as lost to history.

A side thing is we do go out on adventures. We do not have to explain where we get the over the counter acquisitions and the under the counter items, those who buy them don’t tell.

Each goes out by themselves. Carmine makes it a public point that he now buys complete collections and will go on trips to buy them. Martha loves old books, manuscripts and such. Old maps are popular but those we either buy or make sure that copies are lost to history.

There are searches that we do refuse because of the notoriety. We have been asked for the Arc of the Covenant and such. All those we have refused. Shela is the only one, besides myself, that knows one of those requests actually exists.

Inventions, some fail but now Martha says that the royalties on patents is a very lucrative prospect. “More than failures are worth in write offs. So you can invent to your hearts content. Especially those that components can be used in other applications.

I love games so I spent some time making my own advancements. The best is a total immersion game that puts the player into a hologram environment where they make a avatar that they can interact with the environment. It is a smash hit. Another patent.

We do share in the profits of the patents.

Shela and I have discussed this and have asked then both to the home.

After a fine dinner, Shela is a chef on par with the best. I have told her that she could open a restaurant. She only likes to cook what she wants for me. I love her.

After the meal and we sat, Shela brought out the sipping whiskey and poured each a glass. Then I tell them of my proposition.

“We have been working together for quite a few years now. Royalties alone are making us very rich. I don’t want to stop with even the special requests. I love the look on the Boss when we get him a new item.

What I want to ask the both of you is, We would like you to become full partners in our corporation we will call Invent Unlimited. It will include every aspect, including the factory, the online and other of the enterprises that are in just Shela’s and my names.

What do you say, want to become a corporation? I would like the accounting and the store to be yours separately. Independent.”

They both are stunned at the offer and accept but protest on the separation of their businesses. I explain that it gives them insurance of a back up “Shall we say the façade of silent partners. Investing in the corporation but you will be full partners.

We now are a corporation. It further enhances our image and now that we have quite a few offers to develop creations from their concepts. We take them with the proviso that we will retain patents on the vital components.

Also there are set times that we are required to do field research and testing of other inventions. We supply those set times into a schedule.

We all now like those trips to different areas of the world to investigate. Lore, history and especially libraries. I have made a copyrighted program that allows a tablet to scan the page and translate it from any language to any language. We do a lot of field testing for improvements.