Fallen Empire

chapter 12

XII.

Alice crosses her arms, not believing that even this powerful Guardian could have this scientist at his beck and call. She sits down in the chair in front of the computer screen and waits.

The Guardian leans against the table holding the keyboard and says, “There are a few things you need to know first. Phoenix’s plan to kill Brutus is a new tactic. His first two attempts were focused on Nero, the adopted son of the Emperor Claudius and nephew of Caesar.”

“Senator Nero?” Alice asks surprised.

“In your history yes, in ours Nero became one of the youngest emperors ever appointed. In True time Nero was Emperor following Claudius’ death and was eventually assassinated after the most debauched and immoral reign in the history of Italia.”

“He was a source of constant embarrassment to the Senate,” Alice muses, “I could not imagine the havoc Nero would have caused as Emperor.”

“Phoenix decided that if Rome would not have fallen and Britannicus, the true heir and son of Claudius, had taken the throne and lived Rome would prevail.

‘In True Time, Nero poisoned Britannicus. Phoenix’s first plan was an attempt on Nero’s life shortly after Claudius’ death, before he could have time to kill Britannicus; I arrived and prevented Phoenix from putting snake venom in Nero’s drink. This startled him into leaving before his mission was complete.

Alice puzzles, “Why was Britannicus so important? He was a quiet senator in my history, never making any important decisions.”

“His father was an enlightened scholar who created an innovative government, a three-tiered system that took power away from the Senate and gave it to the ordinary man, a free and equal democracy which lasted two thousand years until you discovered the truth. Britannicus was entrusted with putting this government into effect as soon as he took the throne.

‘Phoenix decided that I would be watching Nero too closely and chose to target Britannicus. Phoenix projected a holographic-image of a soothsayer over himself to warn Britannicus to leave Rome immediately.”

The Guardian hesitates then presses a few buttons and a shaky video appears on the screen.

It shows the outside of a comfortable Roman villa outside the city, large enough to accommodate the heir to the throne and his retinue. Britannicus, whom Alice vaguely recognizes from history books, is standing in the doorway surrounded by well-dressed young men. An old, hobbling man with wild hair is beginning to approach the house, the old man abruptly stops, and turns, as if hearing a noise, he looks directly into the camera.

The wild haired old man begins hobbling quickly in the opposite direction although he doesn’t appear to get farther away. There is a brief flash of black and the image vanishes and returns, with a close-up of the old man’s face… The video travels down to the old man’s arm, where the Guardian’s hand reaches for this old man’s apparently n***d wrist. When the Guardian’s hand touches the bare wrist a thick metal bracelet appears and the guardian removes it. The hologram of the old man vanishes, leaving behind the, shaken image of Daniel Phoenix Alice was shown earlier.

The video continues as Phoenix collects himself, smiles smugly, and touches a hidden bracelet on his other wrist. Energy pulsates around him and he vanishes completely. The video plays a few more seconds of the view outside Rome before cutting out.

“After Phoenix left, I returned here to look for him. The computer found him at his lab Whitehall, London, United Kingdom on May 14, 4002, 8:30 p.m. I went to confront him.” The Guardian says as he prepares his visual aid.

The screen brightens again with an image of Phoenix’s lab. The first thing Alice notices is the viewing end of a massive black telescope pointing directly towards the ceiling, which is divided into two pieces down the middle. The camera pans upward and Alice can see the upstairs balcony circling the telescope room. Daniel Phoenix is nowhere in sight, but as the camera follows the Guardian’s eyes to the floor it spots Phoenix’s bracelet laying on the floor by the base of the telescope stand. The Guardian’s hand moves into the screen as if to touch the bracelet when a cocky British voice cuts in.

“I don’t think you want that worthless antique of mine, seeing as how you have the vastly improved version. If you’ve come here to kill me, I’m on the top floor.”

The image is replaced with static for a moment then reappears suddenly.  The ‘new’ view is through the rails of the balcony, several stories above where he just came from. A slightly heavy breathing commences in the background and Phoenix starts laughing quietly. Alice realizes this is the Guardian’s sight and it looks as if he is in pain.

“What did you hope to accomplish by coming here?” Phoenix asks out of view of the camera, “You can’t kill me in my own time without causing another rift in Time, even if you were in one piece”

Alice quickly interjects, “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you in one piece?”

“Watch and you will see.” The Guardian says pointing at the screen, the view on the screen raises a little at a time as the Guardian, from the video, struggles to his feet, “If you don’t stop, you leave me no choice but to kill you.”

Phoenix continues working while saying, “Not if you truly wish to preserve history. You know what will happen if the human race is allowed to proceed down the self-destructive path they have chosen. Why do you persist in salvaging your bleak future?”

“Because is it not as bleak as it appears.” The Guardian catches his breath and straightens “Mankind was so addicted to war that they could not stop until they destroyed their planet. After being forced underground, there were no more wars. Men learn from their bad decisions…”

Phoenix shakes his head sadly, “There are no wars because there is nothing left to fight over. Humans reverting back to their simplest beginnings, on the same level as animals. They have no religion, no passion, and no comprehension. It is a life that has lost its purpose for existence.”

“There is a purpose for everything,” The Guardian contradicts.

          Phoenix says resolutely, “There can be no purpose in this war.”

The Guardian shakes his head, “Changing Time will not prevent the end of the human race. You are creating an alternate Time-circle, not changing the events of True Time. The only thing you will prevent is the regeneration of the Time Circle, effectively ending Time.”

“I am aware of that fact; however, I would prefer to see Time end after a period of complete peace rather than have it regenerate after such a horrific tragedy. Forget your delusion of ‘True’ Time and enjoy the beauty of the world I am creating.”

“I can’t do that.” The Guardian says resolutely

Phoenix narrows his eyes, “If you continue to pursue me, you will be the instrument of your own destruction.”

“You don’t frighten me.”

“I have no wish to kill you, but you are killing yourself through the use of teleportation. Are you familiar with Henderson’s Disease?”

The Guardian moves slightly in surprise, “I am not familiar with that,  I know Adrian Henderson invented teleportation.”

“Yes, he invented the basic form of teleportation in 3027. A.D. It instantly became a primary mode of transportation, making air and road travel obsolete. Dr. Henderson was the first to experience the negative side effects of his technology. Teleportation is essentially the dissolving and restructuring of matter. Every time matter is dissolved, a fraction never restructures properly. At first, the fraction is only of retained water or excess fats. Over many uses, fractions of vital organs and bones begin to disappear. If the afflicted person continues to teleport, he will eventually fail to restructure at all. After Henderson’s death in 3053, the general public began to show signs of the disease that was named after its creator. Shortly after, governments worldwide banned teleportation and locked the technology away. I discovered it while conducting top secret experiments for the British government and incorporated it into my method of Time travel. If I use this technology much more, I will begin to show signs of Henderson’s Disease, but not before I complete my mission. You on the other hand have been teleporting most of your life and are now you are so advanced in the disease that you might only have one teleport left. Do you hold your life in such little regard as to expend it trying to prevent my perfect world?”

“History must be preserved at all cost,” the Guardian says stolidly, “The sacrifice of a pawn is insignificant in an overall victory.”

“If you consider yourself a pawn, one of many to be thrown away lightly in the course of history, then I am the knight who shall be instrumental in changing that course to benefit life.”

“One pawn alone will be triumphant if wielded properly.”

“Then we must each proceed according to our own strategies,” Phoenix says regretfully, “Thanks for stopping by. You might want to take the stairs instead of teleporting.” He turns back to his computer and the Guardian climbs down the stairs and walks through the ShadowGate. The screen goes dark.

Alice’s mind races at full speed watching the confrontation. When the video feed ends, she asks, “How did Phoenix know you were using his technology?”

Without speaking, the Guardian walks over to the blank wall next to the computer and touches small inset button that Alice failed to notice earlier. A drawer slides out of the wall and the Guardian takes out what appears to be a digital watch. He brings it over and holds it up for her to examine.

“This is what Phoenix was referring to – a Temporal Gauntlet. He took what has been a KEY instrument for teleportation and adapted it into a controller for Time travel. You can try it on if you want.”

Alice nods and lets him strap it to her right wrist. She looks at it closer, noticing the sleek touch-screen blinking coordinates at her. Untouched the Gauntlet’s cloaking device activates and disappears. She turns her wrist, looking for any sign of the wristband, feeling for it with her left hand. It reappears on contact.

The Guardian removes it by pressing two tiny levers on either side of the strap and says, “The Gauntlet’s cloaking mechanism is so perfect that you can only find it, if you know that it is there. I have the technology to defeat Phoenix, yet I am unable to do it alone. It is a strange feeling for someone as mentally advanced as I am to be helpless in the face of pure physical superiority. You on the other hand have the strength and endurance to carry out your mission, but you lack the understanding. We can help each other, Dr. Faith.”

Alice understood Phoenix’s perspective, his determination to prevent a devastating world war and the resulting years of degradation for the human race. She also can see why the Time Guardian needed to stop Phoenix. however since he claims it is his calling is to ensure the continuation of the Time Circle at all costs, that could narrow his perception of history and make him unable to see that the ultimate cost in human life might overwhelm the need to renew Time. Finally, she says, “Let’s assume I decide to help you What would you want me to do?”

“I can teleport you to Pompeii’s Theatre and you can destroy Phoenix before he can complete his mission.”

“I don’t want to kill anyone,” Alice says quickly, “I might keep him from killing Brutus, but I’m not a murderer.”

“He must be stopped permanently or he will eventually succeed.” The Guardian frowns, “Since I can no longer teleport, my ability to follow him is severely limited. He takes advantage of my weaknesses and will not fail again.”

“I can’t kill someone for a belief that I agree with. Why can’t you do it?” Alice asks.

“If I teleport again, I may not reconstruct. Even if I do, I will be so weak that I won’t be able to fight Phoenix and he will kill me. I could use the ShadowGate to find him but I have to arrive on ground level and climb up to the roof. That will give him ample time to escape. I need your help to defeat him. Your intention was to destroy YOUR world in order to renew True Time for future generations. What has caused you to retract your convictions?”

Alice gathers her runaway thoughts before replying, “When I started out, I thought I was destroying something that had no ultimate purpose, something created by careless accident, which would prevent Time from continuing. Now that I know what will happen if my world is gone, I don’t know which path is right. Will the future generations of the next Time Circle be so advanced that this enormous sacrifice of human life and dignity in this one are necessary in order to bring them into being? How are you willing to sit in judgment on my world when you have destroyed yours?”

The Guardian stands before her and gently reaches for her chin with his hand. “Alice, I am not judging anyone I am simply doing what I believe is right.”

He releases her chin and speaks from the heart, “Just because I live at the end of this Time Circle doesn’t mean I have all the answers. I believe that what happens is part of a greater purpose, both good and evil. I know that Time must continue because I don’t want the choices of my Circle to be the last ones made. As long as Time can renew, there is hope that the next Circle won’t make the mistakes that we have.” The Guardian steps back, looking almost vulnerable and says, “I don’t think you want the beliefs your father held so strongly to die with him.”

Alice is shocked, “He’s dead, what happened?”

“When he traveled back to fix the hole in Time, he discovered Phoenix attempting to kill Brutus and took it upon himself to stop him. Dr. Faith was unarmed and unprepared for Phoenix’s determination.”

“Can’t you go back and save him like you saved me?”

The Guardian sighs, “I can’t interfere without jeopardizing True Time even more. You and your father shouldn’t exist and I have my doubts that rescuing you was the right thing to do, it’s just something I had to do. I am taking a major risk by bringing you here; I could conceivably create a paradox by destroying your world and keeping you alive. My only option is to take that chance, because I can’t do this on my own.”

Alice thinks for a moment, “I don’t know if I can do this…”

“I think you will find that you are capable of more than you ever thought possible. You have a deep-rooted sense of truth and you carefully weigh everything before you act to be sure you are in the right. Take time to consider before you give me an answer. I’ll check on your companions.”

The Guardian leaves the room,  Alice stares at the blank computer screen, wondering if she can trust herself to make the right decision.