Transcendents - The Pursuit of Time

Chapter 8 – Judas Among Us?

John :

"Our first destination, as you know, isn't 1516, Germany, but 27 BC in Rome. If you remember our mission briefing by the late Doctor Sofia, she picked it for the experiment merely due to her own preference.

When we first arrived, it was both the late Doctor Sofia and her duplicate, who called herself Doctor Salvia, that first discovered their powers. Doctor Sofia and Doctor Salvia could apparently create matter out of thin air. Things were very convenient at that time when we could simply have any food or accommodation we wanted.

Subsequently, we all slowly learned to control our powers while we live hidden from the world, since we do not know what effect it would have on time itself if we started associating ourselves with anyone in that era. In other words, we were supposed to only be observing history and not be part of it.

However, during one of our covert observational trips in the heart of the Roman Empire, Doctor Sofia could not bear to see beggars aplenty on the street and under the bridge. She created gold out of thin air and handed it to them.

This started a heated argument between Doctor Sofia and Doctor Salvia, and thus began their deeper research on how our powers could affect the concept of time itself. The research was never really completed, but they both came up with a theory called the 'Book of Life Theory', which I will explain to you later. Both Doctor Sofia and Doctor Salvia cautioned us to also limit the usage of our powers, as they found some anomalies in them, though nothing conclusive was reached before their demise.

The research went on for merely 3 months before the dreaded day – the day the Man in Hoodie infiltrated our home and managed to s*******r six of us.

He killed Doctor Sofia, Doctor Salvia, the other you, Haasim, Andreia, and the other Julianna. Before the 'other you' died, with his last breath, he took out from his pocket the Holy Bible and marked the word "Judas" in Luke 22:3 with his own blood.

The Man in Hoodie, for some unknown reasons, left the rest of us alive. Well, he intended to kill me too, but that's a different story altogether.

After the incident, most of us went our separate ways. This includes the 'other me', who names himself Johannes. The surviving Haasim and Andreia have also hidden themselves inside their cryogenic devices, waiting to be awakened in their respective time destinations.

Meanwhile, we have reasons to believe Johannes is in this era, and he's probably on his way to changing history. That's the reason why we took the cryogenic device together and came to 1516, Germany. I do not think this will end well with Johannes going about meddling with the unknown effects of time.

Well, that's the summary. I suppose you have questions and I will be more than happy to answer them. That's what these beers are for."

Skylah :

"First of all, why now?"

Julianna :

"What do you mean?"

Skylah :

"I mean, you two could have woken me up in 27 BC, explained everything to me, and gone into cryogenesis together. Instead, I am woken up in 1516. Also, from what little I've gathered, the 'other me' was the weakest among the group. Why am I needed then?"

John :

"Cryogenic devices take a lot of resources to operate. It was never an issue when both Doctor Sofia and Doctor Salvia were alive, since they could create matter from nothing. However, we weren't sure if we would be able to find more resources to put you back into cryogenesis if we woke you up in 27 BC.

At this point, we merely have enough resources for the three of us to use the cryogenic devices again.

And...to answer you bluntly, you are indeed the weakest among us all. However, for some reason, both the late Doctor Sofia and Doctor Salvia seemed to place you in high regard. So much so that, they repeatedly reminded us that if anything bad were to happen, we should wake you up and get your help."

Skylah :

"Say… the Man in Hoodie. Did you see his face? You said 'the other me' marked the word "Judas". The Man in Hoodie could've been one of us."

John :

"His face was covered so none of us could recognise him. However, that dying message didn't make much sense to me. All of us were present during the incident. It could not have been one of us."

Skylah :

"What about me?"

Julianna :

"What?"

Skylah :

"I mean, I wasn't present. What if I somehow escaped from my cryogenic device and killed all of you before returning to my device?"

Julianna :

"Then you wouldn't go back into cryogenesis and be interacting with us now."

Skylah :

"What if, for some reason, I don't remember? You know, like in Total Recall?"

John :

"What's a total recall?"

Julianna :

"Another one of his pop culture references. Anyway, it can't be you. There are cameras in the lab where you were sleeping. The footage of you being there inside the device at all times during the incident is encrypted and could not have been doctored.

And, just for the record, we didn't check because we suspected you. We checked to see if the Man in Hoodie got to you."

Skylah :

"Are you guys sure it's a hoodie?"

Julianna :

"Your questions are…. getting weirder?"

Skylah :

"It's not weird. It's an important question."

John :

"It's a piece of fabric over his head that is attached to his clothes. I don't know what else it would be if not for a hoodie. We're just referencing him as the Man in Hoodie for convenience's sake.

I, too, am curious about why you ask. Please enlighten us."

Skylah :

"Well, if we take out the possibility of us being the Man in Hoodie, then he must come from somewhere.

It was 27 BC and you are talking about a man in a hoodie? Does that not surprise you?"

John :

"I never gave much thought to it… But it would not be surprising if he was from a future where hoodies existed. There is also a possibility that he is a time traveller like us.

If I were to think outside the box, it might be one of our 'anchors' that are stuck in our original timeline. This seems to be the only logical situation that fits the "Judas" description."

Skylah :

"None of our anchors could have travelled back in time as they only had one soul each. That is how it was explained by Doctor Sofia and I don't think she was wrong about this.

At least for now, we can rule out the possibility of "Judas" being one of us three."

John :

"You are right."

Skylah :

"Moreover, a piece of fabric over your head could be something else entirely, like a scarf, a burqa, or probably hundreds of other possibilities.

That aside, more importantly, why do you want to stop Johannes?"

John :

"This leads me to the next part of my explanation….."