Fallen Empire

chapter 15

XV.

The next morning, Ryland is the first to wake. He leaves the sparse dwelling the Guardian provided for the evening heading towards the stairs. He makes a brief stop in the room he remembered had a peach tree, grabs breakfast and resumes his trek downstairs. Still eating, he walks down the steps to find the ‘ghost’ chamber is empty turning the corner, Ryland finds the Guardian sitting at the computer terminal as if he has not moved all night.

“This has been a great visit an’ all but can you send me home now?” Ryland asks clearly homesick.

The Guardian looks up briefly and returns to his work, “You’ve learned quicker than I expected. If you were to return knowing all that you do, you could cause a bigger mess than the one we just cleaned up.”

“I donae’ know anythin’,” Ryland protests anxiously, “I havnae’ understood a single word since leaving that English prison. I’ve had enough of sorcery an’ wizards. All I want to do is go home to my family’s farm an’ live out my days in peace.”

“Someday you might be able to, but for the present, you will remain here to assist Alice and myself. I will be training her to take over for me and she will need your help.” The Guardian sighs, “We won a battle yesterday, but the war is far from over and I will not be around forever.”

They both look up when they hear Seren’s voice from the stairs. “Wait! Alice, are your ears malfunctioning- why- are- you- -not- talking to me?”

Alice stomps down the steps of the spiral staircase steadily in front of her babbling counterpart. As she makes her way to the computer room she tells the Guardian, “I want to go home.”

The Guardian looks blankly at her for a moment before announcing, “Your home doesn’t exist anymore, Dr. Faith.”

She hesitates for a moment, “Then I want go to Rome as it is in True Time. There might be something left of the life I knew.”

“For what purpose?” Asks the Guardian.

“I’ll respect the Time Circle, of course, but I don’t want to stay here. I want to start a new life.”

“You will not recognize that Rome,” He warns, “They are still in the Dark Ages compared to what you are expecting.”

“I’ll survive.” Alice crosses her arms stubbornly.

“Very well,” The Guardian acquiesces, “Your clothes will not be too out of place, but I cannot allow you take your robot with you.”

Alice looks over at Seren, “I don’t want to leave you, Seren but I have to go; I can’t stay in this place.”

Seren hugs her, “I understand.” He leans down and whispers in her ear, “I will steal a Temporal Gauntlet and find you.”

She smiles at him, using her quiet laughter to beat back tears.

Ryland taps her on the shoulder, “I donae’ know where you’re going or what you’ll find when you get there, but I want you to stay safe.” He pulls his dirk out of his belt and hands it to her, hilt first.

“Thank you, Ryland.” Alice takes the weapon and leans over to kiss him on the cheek.. Ryland blushes and mutters something incoherent before stepping back.

Alice places the dirk in her boot and touches her wrist to make the Temporal Gauntlet appear. She removes it, and hands it to the Guardian, “I will not be needing this anymore. Send me through the ShadowGate.”

The Guardian reluctantly takes her Gauntlet while trying to return it, “Please, take it with you, in case you change your mind.”

She refuses to touch it again, “I’m not coming back. Send me to my lab.”

The Guardian nods, “If that is what you wish,” He goes to the holographic-chamber closely followed by Alice. Seren and Ryland stay just inside the pass-through of the computer room.

A scene of busy streets and tall buildings fill the chamber. Insubstantial people appear like they were made of mist, talking on mobile phones and riding on motorbikes, streaming all around Alice. The scene shifts to an empty side street where laundry hangs from the balconies of apartments on second and third stories.

“You can get through right here,” says the Guardian, “Down this alley is where you lab would have been.”

Alice nods and the Guardian summons the shadows in the room to converge in front of Alice. The ShadowGate opens and she steps though, instantly her surroundings within the faux chamber become substantial, the chamber’s buildings solidify and she feels a slight breeze that causes the laundry to wave cheerfully overhead.  She walks down the alley and in spite of what she knows, she half expected to see her lab right where she left it, with the door still welded shut. She spots the decaying ruins of the Temple of Minerva and next to it where her lab should geographically be there is a small white building with a tastefully lettered sign over the door that reads ‘Café’

Not knowing what else to do, Alice steps up to the door. She looks around for an identification-plate and contemplates how the door is activated. A rushed customer crosses in front of her opens the door manually. Alice is slightly bothered she overcomplicated that but walks inside regardless.

 She enters a large open room with bookcase-lined walls and a small number of people sitting with books at scattered tables and in armchairs. An older woman with glasses sits at a desk behind a coffee bar by the entrance. She’s playing solitaire and stops to look over the glass countertop to greet Alice, “May I help you?” The woman asked in Italian

Alice is confused.  She couldn’t understand the woman, so she responds in English, “I am sorry, I didn’t understand that.”

The woman smiles politely adjusting to accommodate the language barrier, “oh, are you from the United States? Welcome, what brings you over the pond?”

Taken aback, Alice honestly doesn’t know what to say, “I don’t know what I want yet, do you mind if I just look around?”

“Take all the time you need.” The woman nods approvingly and goes back to her cards.

Alice walks over to the nearest bookshelf and looks at the titles. The Guardian’s holographic-image appears beside her.

“Aren’t YOU a little out of place in the twenty-first century?” She comments bitingly.

“I’m using the holographic-chamber, so don’t let anyone see you conversing with me. People here tend to frown on talking to yourself.”

“I thought I told you to send me to my lab?” Alice says through gritted teeth.

“This is where it would have stood, had it been built. You will not be able to find the level of technology you are accustomed to in this Time.”

Alice looks at him sharply before returning her concentration to the bookshelf, “My whole life has been lived in a lie. This may not be ideal, but for the fist time in my life I am living without lies.”

The Guardian steps through the bookshelf to look her in the eye, “If you want reality and truth, you will not find it here.”

She steps away from him and The Guardian follows her saying, “This world is a lie as well, one that is even worse because it is created by the inhabitants. These people are bound by their own nearsightedness, arrogance, and selfishness. They believe in a secure future that they are destroying every minute. Look at the headlines of the newspapers.” He points to a table with a pile of unfolded newsprint strewn across it.

“Go away! Let me explore my new Time in peace.”

She walks over to the table and looks at the front page of La Repubblica.  Even though she can’t understand the Italian article, the photos were certainly worth a thousand words.

A fire rages in a half-demolished building while rescue crews carry victims to a safe distance. Several people sit on the street, seemingly in shock, covered in blood from various wounds.  In one corner is a young woman who holds a child in her arms. The rescue workers ignore her, assuming the child to be beyond aid.

Further down the page is a smaller photo of two men in long tunics and turbans standing in front of a pile of rubble. They both wear ventilation masks with huge goggles and carry large guns.

Alice turns the paper over, sickened by the brutality of the images… The newspaper underneath La Repubblica is in English. The name, New York Times, didn’t make any sense to Alice, but it is open to the International News section and she notices an article titled  Italian Embassy Bombing.

She reads the story, which has a much smaller copy of the photograph from the cover of La Repubblica

The Italian Embassy in Morocco was bombed late Monday afternoon, leaving 15 dead and over 100 wounded. Rescue efforts continue and workers are still trying to determine the number of people in the building at the time. The U.S. Embassy received a bomb threat last week and a diplomatic vehicle was found to be wired with explosives. The Iraqi Freedom Movement claiming responsibility for the attack made a call to Interpol. Authorities have refused to speculate on whether  the attacks are connected.

Alice wipes away her tears as the image as The Guardian tentatively approaches her.

“This kind of bloodshed is an everyday occurrence in this world. Even children are raised with the belief that violence is the answer to most problems. I know it’s a shock and I’m sorry that this world isn’t a better place, but you have a right to know if you want to live here.”

“People in this Time must live in so much fear,” Alice chokes out.

“I could take you somewhere else with the ShadowGate if you wish,” the Guardian says sympathetically.

“But you’re not actually here, you’re in the Future. Can it work from that far away?”

“YES” The Guardian acknowledges, “It is the highest evolution of Time travel. Where do you want to go?”

Alice thinks for a moment and says,

“I want to go to home.”

The Guardian looks over at a bookcase and a ShadowGate opens. Alice takes a moment to see if anyone there is watching, with no eyes on her she steps through. She walks through like stepping though rooms only now she is standing in a parking lot and unfamiliar surroundings.

“You’ve taken me to the wrong place.” She looks back at the Time Guardian just as he closes the Gate, disappearing along with the Cafe. At a loss, Alice glances around and notices the names of the streets running past. This is the right place, but her home is gone.

Although she knew that her family would vanish along with her Rome upon completion of her mission; a small part of her held out hope that they would have survived. Feeling sick and lost, from her revelation, she wanders down the streets, not caring where she is going. Occasionally, spotting remnants of a Rome she knew – the marketplace, a temple dedicated to Mercury, a statue of Apollo.

She staggers around all day in a daze, swirling around the city in a maelstrom of guilt and remorse, she tires herself to a crawl, finally her journey comes to an abrupt halt.

She realizes that she is standing before the steps of the Curia. One column has collapsed, giving it a lopsided look, but the building remains intact.

The Guardian’s Image appears behind her and he steps in closer to her.

“This is not the way things are supposed to be,” Alice says without turning around.

“It has to be this way,” he says quietly.

“How is this better than my world?”

“This is True Time. Life will continue long after the human race is extinct.” The Guardian says in all honesty.

She wipes away tears to ask, “Where is the decency of humanity? How can this be the right way for our species to develop?”

“The human race is forced into evolution by pain. The scars of history are necessary for development.”

Alice looks at him and says, “How do you know?”

“It is what I believe.” The Guardian says dropping all pretenses and getting personal, “When I was young, I was taught that God had left the world because of the wrath of humanity. As I got older, I have grown to think differently, I believe, He watches us and when we die, He apologizes to us for this wretched world we have had to endure and explains why it has to be done. We have to be tested so HE can see what we do when we are given a choice, that choice will define us.

The Guardian continues softly, “Whatever God is - he needs to see if we can thrive in a world that was never designed to be thrived in… He needs to see if we can make a difference, only when we make a difference do we deserve to live in Heaven.”

“I can’t make a difference here, can I?”

He holds his tongue to properly sugarcoat his response, “Your knowledge would be wasted here. People can’t appreciate things that are beyond their sphere of understanding.”

Alice stares blankly forward, “What should I do?”

“You could protect the Time Circle so that no one else has to experience this pain you are feeling now. You could make a difference in the war that is to come.”

Alice debates internally for a moment, looking at the fallen, mossy stones of the Curia. The beauty of what once-was overwhelming her, her heart turns to stone, purging out all feeling because feeling is the source of her pain. She turns to the Guardian obediently, quietly pleading, “Enlighten me.”

The Guardian nods and mentally commands the shadows of the Curia to move to Alice’s feet. The ShadowGate opens and in front of her the passageway to holographic-chamber is revealed. Through the gate she can see the Guardian standing in front of Seren, and Ryland each one standing in a faux Rome. She steps through the gate to join them, and it closes behind her. The shadows return to their natural home. The Guardian’s hologram shuts off leaving the Eternal city to carry on as if they were never there.

     End Book One