The vortex opened, and Remmy, Arturo, and Wade tumbled out. Last came Quinn, screaming out of the void. As he hit the exit point, a force hit the timer and knocked it from his hand.

REMBRANDT
"Q- Ball, you all right?"

QUINN
"Yeah, I'm fine. The timer was hit by some kind of shock, though."

Remmy retrieved the device, and a look of surprise passed over his face.

REMBRANDT
"Guys, we've got 48 hours on this world..."

ARTURO
"Rembrandt, we've explained this to you before. This model of timer does not operate under the Helix Spiral. We simply open the vortex when we want to."

REMBRANDT
"Then why is it counting down from 48?"

QUINN
"What! This isn't possible. We haven't activated the timer early, and this timer was built specifically so that we wouldn't have to."

Quinn examined the timer.

QUINN
"Man, it's a good thing I left in all the countdown tech or we wouldn't know what the hell is going on... though it could just be a problem with the display. One way to find out..."

Quinn motioned to activate the timer.

ARTURO
"Quinn - NO! I understand what you're thinking. I don't quite grasp what the matter is, either. You're right, the problem could be with the timer, but I say we wait for the duration of the slide. When it is over, we'll examine it if it's still counting down."

Before Quinn could answer, the timer began to make a "beeping" noise.

REMBRANDT
"I don't know much in the way of science, but I know that can't be good!"

The sliders heard sirens in the distance and scrambled to hide in a nearby alley. The sirens got closer and stopped. Seven armed men got out from the cars and approached the alley. A van soon followed.

WADE
"We'd better give ourselves up before we get in more trouble. Maybe they can explain what's happened."

QUINN
"Agreed."

The sliders got up from the alley with their hands up.

ARMED MAN
"GIVE ME THE TIMER, SIR!"

Quinn handed over the timer, and they were led into the large van. A mile or so away, the van dropped them off at a facility marked "Department of Sliding". The sliders were ushered towards an interrogation room.

REMBRANDT
"Now what are we gonna do?"

WADE
"I don't know, but I bet this isn't how they treat all of their guests."

ARTURO
"Now, there has to be a connection between this and what's happened. I bet they can explain it all to us."

The door opened. The sliders looked at it, and a woman walked out. It was Diana Davis.

DIANA
"Hello. My name is..."

REMBRANDT
"Diana!"

DIANA
"Yes. How did you know that?"

REMBRANDT
"I know, well, knew your ... double."

DIANA
"You've met my double? That's interesting.... Now, to get to the point. What is your business on this world?"

Remmy was surprised at Diana's attitude. His friend never acted this way.

QUINN
'We're just passing through."

DIANA
"I'm sorry, but there is no "passing through' here. Let me see your I.I.D."

REMBRANDT
"I.I.D?"

DIANA
"Interdimensional Identification. You weren't issued one by the IPF?"

The sliders gave another puzzled look.

DIANA
"Really, where are you from? Are you spies for the Pirates?"

ARTURO
"Miss, honestly, we are just passing through. We are sliders, and as soon as our timer is fully functional, we will leave."

DIANA
"What's wrong with it? It seemed fully functional to me when I examined it."

QUINN
"Its counting down, even though it isn't supposed to."

DIANA
"Ohhh, well, I can explain that, but it's a long story."

Quinn cast a sarcastic look at Diana. This wasn't how it was supposed to work. He and the professor had worked for months on this technology, and he wanted to know how it was compromised in a matter of seconds.

QUINN
"Well, we've got about 46 hours, 32 minutes until we leave. Will it take longer than that?"

Diana returned a disgusted look.

DIANA
"Well, to make a long story short, it started about ten years ago. A group of sliders came by offering to trade. We were intrigued by the science and ended up creating our own sliding technology. Our world became a center of interdimensional trading, but then a group of Interdimensional pirates came along and demanded more goods than we were prepared to surrrender. So, we developed a global net that puts an automatic signal on the person's timer, and sets a two day limit on their window. That way we have sufficient time to capture and interrogate any sliders and send any criminals to the police."

As Diana finished her sentence, a guard came in.

GUARD
"Doctor Davis, we've had three more illegal slides come through in the last hour."

DIANA
"How many is that now?"

GUARD
"Thirty-seven. And they're getting harder to track. They have developed some sort of device that weakens our signal."

DIANA
"You haven't lost the signal for any of them?"

GUARD
"Well, we lost a couple, temporarily, but we got them back. Should I alert the Lieutenant?"

DIANA
"Only if you lose the signal for good."

The guard left the room, and Diana turned to face Arturo again.

ARTURO
"Can you assist us with our problem?"

DIANA
"I honestly don't know. Yours is the first that didn't have a time restriction on it. I could help you find a solution, though."

Quinn didn't feel comfort from this woman's promise to help.

QUINN
"Thanks..."

Diana, Quinn, and Arturo worked on a solution, while Wade and Remmy got to know each other. Wade talked about the isolation of her Remmy when they slid, and Remmy was surprised. He and Wade were always the closest....

When Remmy mentioned what happened to Wade and the Kromaggs, Wade was almost in tears. It was so sad. Remmy comforted her, knowing that she was out there. Wade told Remmy how her Rembrandt had made it big when they got home, and mentioned that Remmy's stay on her world made her Remmy even more popular. Remmy laughed, but he quickly got those homesick feelings. He was committed to finding Maggie, Mallory, and Diana, but he would have liked to stop by his Earth on the way. There just wasn't any time. He would be there soon. He just kept thinking that...

With four hours left, the sliders were awoken with the sound of a large explosion. The "invaders" had attacked the compound. When the explosion occurred, Quinn, Arturo, and Diana were inside her lab. The guard rushed into the lab to alert Diana of the situation.

GUARD
"Dr. Davis! A group of the sliders are attacking! Don't worry, though, ma'am, you should be safe in here."

DIANA
"How did they avoid detection?"

Diana was confused. She had gotten to her place in the Department of Sliding with her invention, and it was failing in its purpose. She had to know why...

GUARD
"We guess that they slid in many more, and only a couple were caught. Then, the others got into position and prepared to attack."

Diana was amazed. He "guesses"! It boggled her mind. The science wasn't working, and she was out of answers. Quinn - sitting in his chair, examining his "flawed science" - decided to help Diana, returning the favor.

QUINN
"Dr. Davis, why don't you use the field that you created to make a sort of 'counter'. You have control of the field, I assume?"

DIANA
"Of coarse, but unfortunately we don't know how. The science behind the field is still a mystery to us. Our government was seeking a quick solution. This field is a temporary fix. Eventually, we hope to make a field that allows no interdimensional travel here."

ARTURO
"Madam, I understand your concern to protect your world, but I don't believe that restricting sliding is the answer. I have been exploring parallel worlds for some time, and the things that I have learned while doing so can hardly be explained. Sliding shows you the ways things could happen in order to allow you to prevent them. Yes, there is danger involved, but that is the price we pay for discovery and understanding. Protect yourselves, yes, but I neither believe in nor agree with your reasons for giving up on the most groundbreaking field of study I have ever known."

QUINN
"Wait! You'll have to understand the science behind each dimension's quantum signature, right?"

DIANA
"We are familiar with that. Why do you ask?"

QUINN
"You could scan for a separate quantum signature instead of separate life signs. Like when we searched with you for Quinn, Professor."

Arturo smiled. He knew that Quinn had the solution. He had gotten to know this Quinn, but still missed his own student.

A noise came from the guard's earpiece. He alerted Diana that the crisis was over, and that the facility's police force had ended the riot. Diana led Quinn and the Professor down a corridor to the center where the field was created. They worked on the computer and finished with two hours until the slide.

DIANA
"I'm sorry Professor Arturo, Mr. Mallory. We didn't need to spend all of that time working on the field. With this idea, we could have managed alone."

ARTURO
"Its all right, Doctor Davis. We will find a solution."

QUINN
"What if we go beyond the two hour limit?"

Diana nodded as if the plan could work, but Arturo interrupted.

ARTURO
"While the basis of your assumption is pure, the facts don't support it. If we wait beyond the two hour limit, and you're wrong, we could be stuck here for 29 years. For Quinn's sake, we can't risk it."

Diana broke the conversation, and insisted that they keep on working.

Quinn looked at the timer. It was counting down, and the three scientists hadn't found a solution. With less than an hour left on it, the three abandoned the lab. They had made some progress, but it was a job that would take longer than that. Diana gave Quinn a disk with all of her research, so that they might find a solution later. She apologized and said her good-byes.

DIANA
"Rembrandt, I hope that you find your friends. Give my double my best."-

Remmy smiled. This was like the Diana he knew.

DIANA
"Professor Arturo, Quinn. Thanks for your work, and I'm sorry for the problem I've started. Professor, thanks for re-initiating my desire to explore the multiverse. I won't abandon 'the most groundbreaking field of study you've ever known'."

Arturo smiled. The sliders thanked Diana for her help.

Quinn opened the vortex, and the four sliders jumped in. Diana looked on as the vortex closed. She sat at her desk and reviewed the data.

DIANA
"Oh my God!"

She stared at the screen with a blank face. She now knew the truth. If they had stayed, their problem was solved......

The vortex closed on the other side, and everyone was concerned with the timer. Everyone huddled around Quinn.

The timer was counting down from 48 hours.

ARTURO
"Well, Mr. Mallory, I believe that we've got a couple of days to find a solution before we catch the next slide..."

Arturo gave a frustrated look, while Remmy and Wade looked on, worried. Quinn looked at the timer hopelessly. They had a big day ahead....