He Claimed to Live Two Years in the Year 2749 and Return to Warn Us
This story sounds incredible. But for decades one man claimed to have seen with his own eyes two different futures for humanity. His name was Al Belek, and this is what he told the world...
In This Article:
Philadelphia and the Rainbow Project Begins
Philadelphia. The naval yard is shrouded in secrecy. A young sailor Edward Cameron (later known as Ala Belek) boards the destroyer USS Eldridge. He does not yet know that within hours he will be trapped between times. Project “Rainbow” — the experiment that was supposed to change the course of the war. The idea seemed simple: using Albert Einstein's unified field theory, create around the ship an electromagnetic field that makes it invisible to enemy radar. On deck stand strange generators. Cables run along the length of the vessel. Scientists in white coats check the equipment. The crew are nervous — rumors circulate about previous tests that ended... not very well.
Activate the Generators and the Eldridge Vanishes
13:00. The team: “Activate the generators!” First there is a pale glow — greenish, unnatural. Then a roar, growing to an intolerable howl. The air around the ship begins to distort, as if you were looking through a scorching asphalt in the heat of a summer day. Edward feels his hair stand on end. The metal under his feet vibrates. And suddenly — a blinding flash of light! The ship disappears. Not simply becoming invisible — it vanishes. Witnesses on shore stare in horror at the empty place where the destroyer had stood seconds before. Moments later USS Eldridge materializes 350 kilometers from Philadelphia — in the harbor of Norfolk, Virginia. Then it disappears again and returns to Philadelphia. But the price of this "success" is terrible.
The Jump Across Time Begins
Edward and his brother Duncan realize they must escape. They leap overboard. And here begins the real journey. Instead of the cold waters of the Atlantic, they fall into nothingness. A tunnel of light. A whirl of time. Loss of consciousness. Edward opens his eyes. The ceiling is unfamiliar — it glows from within, with no lamps. The walls are strange, like milky glass. Pain... not pain. Although he recalls burns, radiation, and the impact with water. Three people in white coats without seams lean over him. They speak, but the language is unfamiliar. One of them holds a device that emits a soft blue light. He directs it at Edward’s chest — and warmth spreads through his body. “Where am I?” — “In 2137. Welcome to the future.”
Arriving in 2137 and the Future Hospital
For six weeks in the hospital of the future Edward learns incredible things: Medicine without pain. The source of information is a television: Yes, in 2137 there are televisions still. But these aren’t the boxes from 1943. They are holographic panels the size of a wall, showing three-dimensional images. And here is what Edward sees on the screens... Maps no longer lie — they simply changed. North America: Rest of the world: The planet’s population — only 300 million people. Fewer than the United States in 1943. From conversations with doctors, from news, from fragments of history Edward learns the terrifying truth. 2025 — the year when madness began. Spark: Territorial conflict in the South China Sea escalates into open war. Russia and China form a military alliance. The United States and Europe unite in response. 2026 — The first nuclear strikes. At first tactical, “limited.” Then strategic. 2027–2030 — Full-scale war. Outcome: But the strangest thing remains: Radiation disappeared faster than it should have. By 2050 the radiation level had fallen to safe. “How?” — “Technology,” the doctors reply evasively. “Technology that governments obtained from another source.” One night an old man visits Edward. He introduces himself as a historian. “Are you from 1943?” — “That means you still don’t know.” “What?” — “1954. The meeting in Edwards. President Eisenhower met them.” “With whom?” — “With those who are not from Earth.” The historian says: “And did this not help prevent the war?” “No. Technologies only amplified greed and fear. And then… then everything collapsed.” The United States of America no longer exists. There is no central government. No Congress. No president. The territory of the former United States is divided into: Canada — in a similar state. The border between the United States and Canada has been erased — it is now one chaotic zone of survival. Governance? The European Alliance, centered in a rebuilt Switzerland, tries to coordinate the survivors. But this is far from the former power. Magnetic poles began shifting as early as the 2030s. Signs: Solution: By 2080 scientists create artificial magnetic poles — giant generators placed at several points around the planet. They stabilize the field, preventing a total collapse of the magnetosphere. “Where did the technology come from?” — “You know where.”
Floating Megacities Over the Ocean
Six weeks of treatment later Edward wakes not in a hospital in 2137 but somewhere else. The air is cleaner, saturated with ozone. The light is unusual — soft, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. He looks out the window — and he freezes. The city is floating. Not metaphorically — it literally sails on the ocean. Edward stands on a viewing platform, and his mind refuses to believe his eyes. Floating megacities: Size: One city the size of Manhattan, but taller than 4 kilometers Construction: Movement: Population:
Meeting the System: A Crystal Above the Clouds
On the second day in 2749 Edward is invited to meet with the “System.” A levitating platform rises him to 10 kilometers into the sky. There, hovering above the clouds, he sees THIS. A crystalline structure the size of a small island. Edward approaches the crystal — and suddenly his mind fills with a voice. Not sound. Not thoughts. Something in between. “You… can read thoughts?” “You govern the world?” “And you decided?”
