Seven Days is the unofficial name of a top-secret project of the American NSA.
The ultra-hush-hush group consists of highly intelligent scientists and technicians who have developed a time-travelling vessel, the large blue sphere in the image known as the Chronosphere, using technology gleamed from an aliend spacecraft which crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, in the 1940s.
With this incredible device, one person is able to travel back in time a limited amount (seven days based on the fuel source and the machine powered by it). Since there is only so much of the fuel available and because of the inherent dangers in manipulating time, each trip made has to be green-lit by the highest levels of the government.
Controlling the vessel once it is launched is an extremely difficult procedure and just about everyone who had been tested has failed badly. One highly unlikely individual who was reluctantly tested and surprisingly adept at guiding the device was U.S. Navy Commander Frank Parker, former Navy SEAL and a CIA operative for a time. Parker choice was extra amazing because he was being held at the time in a special mental health facility as a result of emotional instability following a time spent held captive in Somalia during a failed mission there.
Parker's behavior at the beginning was erratic to say the least but he soon became quite good at the whole procedure and was a vital part of the project. He quickly became a key member of the team and was well respected and liked by everyone else on the project with the exception of NSA security officer Nathan Ramsay who constantly chafed under Parker's irreverent style.
Other vital members of the Backstep team operating at a secure facility dubbed "Never-Never Land" were:
Dr. Olga Vukavitch - A Russian doctor and scientist who had been working on a Russian version of the Backstep system before it failed and she lost her husband. She has a very unusual relationship with Parker as he is infatuated with her and always trying to get closer to her; she finds herself warming to his advances only to be abruptly put off by some usually immature misstep on his part. Her role in the team is monitoring his physical and mental health.
Dr. Bradley Talmadge - the director of the Backstep program and a seasoned and experienced NSA official. His understanding of people and their quirks is excellent as is his connections in all of the American Intelligence community. He is friendly and amiable and has a fondness for Parker but is not naive in any way.
Dr. Isaac Mentnor - the man who initially conceived of the project and whose insights and visions drove the government to fund and maintain it. He has considerable connections in the scientific community and some of them are rather shadowy which come in handy at unusual instances. He, too, is devoted to the project.
Dr. John Ballard - a genius who has not only helped develop the program but is constantly looking for ways to improve the controls of and capabilities of the device - sometimes with amazing results and sometimes with less than pleasant outcomes. Ballard is unable to walk so spends much of his time in a wheelchair or in a harness hoisted high enough to reach any part of the large Chronosphere.
Captain Craig Donovon - US Navy SEAL who is the military advisor and liaison to the Backstep project and is also a very old and close friend to Parker. He has also trained in the operation of the Chronosphere and is the backup pilot in case of emergency.
The Backstep chain of events follows this sequence of activity: Some event occurs that is deemed vital enough to warrant the use of the Chronosphere (the first one was a terrorist attack that killed the leadership of the country). Parker enters the Chronosphere and it is launched to be piloted by him as best as it can be controlled as it travels through time and space, hopefully landing near where it needs to be. Since he is now seven days in the past, he alone knows what is about to happen and he must contact Backstep team with enough information so they can help him prevent something from happening.
Since it often takes time to gather enough information about an event to come up with a logical resolution, often reasonably needing a few days to achieve this, there is often just a day or two at best left in the seven day window available to the Chronosphere. For example, an attack happens on a facility that is so severe use of Backstep is authorized. But who did it and how and when; these all take time to determine, usually a few days, and then come up with a viable plan of action. By this time, going back seven days means arriving just a little before the actual event and then Parker has to gather whatever forces he needs to resolve the matter. Time is always ticking.
Good Lines:
- When asked at the initial interview if he was crazy, he responded, "Not crazy enough to get involved in an operation you need a crazy man for."
- A major drug cartel leader is unhappy with new technology that can disrupt his operation. He demands his second-in-command destroy the problem, saying, "Anything can be done, or undone, with money! Spend some!!"